


A Safe Place

by liddell_alien



Series: Love Crimes [1]
Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Coven, Hannibal (TV)
Genre: AU, Abusive Relationships, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alice in Wonderland References, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland, Blood and Gore, Cannibalism, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Crossover, Dark Bedelia, Dark Past, Demonic Possession, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Disturbing Themes, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Drugs, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Femslash, Hallucinations, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Lesbian Sex, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Mind Control, Multiple Crossovers, Multiple Personalities, Mutilation, POV Multiple, Panic Attacks, Plot Twists, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Sexual Tension, This is My Design, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-18 14:19:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 63,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4709102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liddell_alien/pseuds/liddell_alien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[NOT IN BETA ANYMORE!]<br/>Bedelia is alive and she managed to escape her fate. All she's looking for now is a safe place where she can live peacefully.<br/>In the meanwhile, the world has discovered the existence of the Coven, and a young woman - running away from her problems - has decided that that's going to be her new home.<br/>Cordelia will have to deal with two new guests in the house, and they are not the kind of people you want to live with...<br/>The two meet and form a complex bond, while secrets are pushing to come out and the past of both women is hunting them down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Playing with fate

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to a friend, the chapters have been checked, there aren't any mistakes anymore - due to the fact that English isn't my first language.  
> I hope you'll enjoy my story. :)

The young woman entered the bar, it was late but the bar was crowded. She had a long day behind her and all she wanted was a quick drink and maybe some hours of sleep in the cheap motel in front of the bar.

Glass clinking against glass and loud chattering were all she could hear, she was used to it. Nothing was different from the night before and the one before that.

She pushed her golden blonde ponytail behind her shoulder and headed towards the counter.

She climbed onto a stool and waved her hand to the bartender, he gestured her to wait and when he arrived, she ordered a frozen margarita with strawberry juice – because she was in the right mood – then she started wandering around with her eyes, patiently waiting for her drink to arrive.

It was the first time she entered that place but she seemed to know everybody in that room. They were all the same: lonely men, sad women, nervous underage teenagers, some loner prostitutes.

There was a group of four businessmen right next to her, they were talking about money and travels and she was the kind of person that snooped into other people’s business; so she quietly stayed still, sipping at her drink, listening to other people’s conversations.

Only two minutes later, she already knew about the guy at the end of the counter – Jim – he was a middle aged man with two kids and a boring wife… he was making a deal with Ginger (fake name for sure) the redheaded prostitute, for two hours in one of the motel rooms.

In the crowd, at one of the little round tables, there was Paula – she was a waitress with no man and no life. The only joy in her days was her brother’s son. A three year old boy with big brown eyes and thick dark hair. She showed his picture to the guy who served her fifth whiskey and it took him ten minutes to shut her up.

Turning her back to the crowd, she faced the big wall full of liquors, behind the counter. She wondered what colour were all the drinks inside the bottles. What did they smell like? What did they taste like?

She was dying for a cigarette, but she promised to herself that she wouldn’t spend her money that way… at least not until she had a job.

Food and gasoline were her priorities… and so it was a frozen margarita with strawberry juice, apparently.

She glanced down at her drink, feeling a sudden wave of guilt building in her chest. Or maybe it was the alcohol.

The air was warm, warmer than outside. It was mid-May, but all those people and no air conditioning did the job. At least the place didn’t smell bad.

She was bored, very bored. The stories of the strangers weren’t amusing her anymore.

She sighed, letting her head fall back and closing her eyes for a brief moment. She let the air slowly fill her lungs, breathing through her nose and letting it out with a whiff.

Feeling the weight of her head on her shoulders, she straightened her back and took another little sip at her drink – the ice was all melted and the taste was fading, but it was still good.

It was then that she noted possibly the only person that she hadn’t noticed before.

The woman was sitting on a stool identical to hers, sipping on a drink similar to hers, ignoring the noise and the people just like her. She looked like a ghost.

So  that was the fate she was going to meet? Being alone, clothed in fancy dresses with a drink in a hand and – what was that? – a pretty cane in the other?

Seeing herself in strangers was something that she usually didn’t do. She was intrigued now.

Curious as she was, she couldn’t stop staring at the woman, wondering who she was and all kind of hypotheses popped up in her mind.

Maybe she was a lonely heiress, waiting for the right moment to marry some lucky guy. Or maybe she was a black widow, waiting for the occasional dumb to chew and spit and kill.

One thing she was sure of: she was waiting for something. The woman was so quiet, lost in her thoughts, drinking by herself.

Maybe she just wanted to be left alone… maybe she wasn’t waiting for anybody. How could she be so sure?

Waiting or not, she wanted to know her secrets and since nobody was approaching the woman to let her talk, she had to find out the old fashioned way.

Grabbing her half empty glass, the young woman left her safe spot, walking towards her target.

Thinking about what to say was probably a good idea, but the room was small and by the time she realized that, she was already standing beside her.

“May I?” she asked, gesturing to the empty stool next to her with a small smile on her lips.

Without saying a word, the other woman lifted her head and moved her eyes from the stool to the short girl on her right.

Bright green eyes met dead blue ones.

She was either stoned or incredibly sad. One thing didn’t exclude the other.

The young woman didn’t sit down until the older one nodded in her direction. She didn’t seem one of much words. Now she was even more curious. What did her voice sound like?

“I’m sorry to bother you, but what are you doing in this bar?” discretion was another thing that didn’t apply to her, so it seemed perfectly normal to her, asking a question without even introducing herself first. “By the look of it, your outfit is worth more than the whole of this place”.

Her features remained still, the expression on her face didn’t change. For a moment she believed that maybe she didn’t hear her. Then the woman looked at her again – she wasn’t mad or bothered, she was nothing. Her eyes were so empty that it almost scared her. “And why are you asking?”

On the other hand, the voice was anything but dull. It was a rich deep voice, no trace of accent that she could recognize. Finally, the ghost seemed a little more alive.

The girl shrugged, “Just curious” she answered, sipping at her drink.

The other woman automatically did the same, her eyes still fixed on the younger one. “Curiosity killed the cat” she simply said, then she put her glass down and gestured the bartender for another one.

With a roll of her eyes, the girl emptied her drink – she wondered for a moment if ordering another one was a good idea. It was a very likely possibility that she had to drive after leaving the bar, and the last thing that she wanted was crashing the car into a tree. “Honestly, if I had a dollar every time someone said that to me, I wouldn’t have to worry about financial problems”.

The shadow of a smile hovered above her lips, before she turned her head to the wall behind the counter. “I’m traveling” she said.

“Where to?”

“Forgive me, but” she weighted her words, staring at all the bottles – maybe she was wondering the colour of the liquors too, “I’d rather keep that information to myself”.

“Fair enough” the girl straightened her back again; damn, those stools were uncomfortable. “I am heading to New Orleans”.

The curly waves of the woman’s hair fell from one shoulder to her back, as she reached for her new drink. The smell of jasmine and roses reached the girl’s nostrils, from the thin and pale blond hair of the mysterious woman. Her name changed from ‘the ghost’ to ‘the mysterious woman’ – it was a good sign. “What’s so special about New Orleans?” she asked.

The girl took a quick look around before answering, not wanting too many ears to listen. “The Coven”.

The woman didn’t even blink, she just traced the rim of her glass with her index finger, “Are you a witch?”

“No” the answer was immediate and she almost laughed. “No, I’m not. Although I wish I were… no,” she repeated, “I just want a safe place to stay for a while and the woman on the TV seemed a nice person”.

The woman shook her head lightly. “Everybody seems worthy of our trust on the television”.

“I’m not that naïve…” she blurted under her breath, feeling a bit ashamed for speaking her mind. “Please, enlighten me…” she joked, “what’s the perfectly safe and beautiful place you’re going to? I swear I won’t tell a soul” she kissed her fingers and drew a cross on her heart.

After a long pause, during which the girl almost believed that she wasn’t going to get her answer, the other woman sighed before she emptied her second drink. She rested her hands in her lap and interlaced her fingers together. “New Orleans” she said, staring at nothing.

“My, that’s a coincidence” the girl almost laughed. “You know, we could go together… or, you could always spend the night in that crappy motel. I hope you’re not afraid of cockroaches”.

The girl sensed a shiver in the other woman and a grimace passed over her face, but the moment she saw it, it was already gone. “I don’t mean to offend you,” she said very calmly, “but it’s not my habit sharing a car ride with perfect strangers”.

“Hey, we’re both tempting fate here. For what I know you could be a serial killer” the girl shrugged, standing up and reaching behind her back to feel her kidneys again. “Let’s make a deal. I won’t kill you and you won’t kill me” she joked, offering the other woman her hand.

She was taking too much to make up her mind and by the look on her face, she wasn’t very keen on accepting her offer.

“Come on,” she whined, “You’re seriously declining a free car ride just because you don’t know me? I’m a five foot woman with noodle arms. What harm could I ever do to you?”

That did it, it was either that or she accepted out of exhaustion – but she never the less accepted the offer.

With a serious look in her semi-hazed eyes, the woman shook the other’s hand in a light grip, before using her as a leverage to get up from the stool as she pointed her cane on the floor.

Once they both put some money on the counter, they left the bar, and the fresh night air caressed their figures.

The neon lights from the motel were blinking, some man with his company was now entering one of the doors.

Drunk laughs filled the air, as a group of teens left another room, completely wasted.

While they were silently walking side by side, a car passed the motel and loud rock music boomed for few seconds, until it faded along with the car.

The woman really needed that cane, the girl noticed – she was putting all her weight on it, but she didn’t make it look to hard. She wondered what was wrong with her left leg.

She decided not to ask, not now… she had to bite her tongue hard, because the curiosity was almost killing her, but she had the feeling that another inconvenient question would have made her change her mind.

The young woman’s car was nothing special. It was old and a bit dusty, but it was clean inside and it smelled good. The other woman needed a hand to get inside and once again the girl had to try really hard not to mention her leg… that was going to be a problem, she needed to know.

While she roamed in her bag to find the keys, she shared a look with the woman. “So,” she said, circling her fingers around the fluffy rabbit shaped keychain, “what’s your name?”

It took her a few moments to realize that they hadn’t introduced themselves yet, and it seemed to bother her a little. She took her time once again, as if telling your name to another person was a hard thing to do. When she spoke, she didn’t look her in the eyes. “Bedelia” she said, no surnames then.

“Is that even a real name?” the question came too fast and she couldn’t stop her mouth, as she started the engine. When she realized that, she forced down a smile, trying not to look at the other woman.

“It is” she answered in a composed tone, as she relaxed against the seat, fixing her seat belt.

The girl smiled a delighted smile, this time not bothering to hide it. “Nice to meet you, then” she said, “I’m Alice”.


	2. Applying for a new job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally Bedelia and Alice arrive to the Coven, and the first secret is revealed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos, I hope you'll like this second chapter!

They had to stop three times. The first of which Alice took the wrong road and she had to ask for information from a creepy guy, in the middle of the night; the second time they had to fill up the gas tank and  the final time they stopped to rest for a few hours, since Bedelia was in no condition to drive and Alice had almost dozed off a couple of times.

The girl was one of a kind, she had a pathological need for attention and she couldn’t shut up for a second.

The only moment of peace Bedelia could have was when she finally fell asleep… and even then, she talked in her sleep occasionally.

Bedelia didn’t sleep, she barely rested these days – since the accident. That was the name she chose for that particular event in her life; it was her mistake, it wouldn’t have happened if she had paid more attention.

Alice asked her a thousand questions during their car ride and she answered a few. The girl was curious and she was done with curiosity.

She asked her the reason why she was going to New Orleans and she didn’t answer. She asked a little about her life, she told her only about her previous occupation. She saw her cringe, and found out without having to ask that she didn’t like psychiatrists much.

“I have few stories about shrinks” Alice told her, eyes fixed on the road and an obvious fake smile on her lips. “They don’t like me and I don’t like ‘em”.

Whoever took her under his or her care, didn’t do a great job. The girl was obviously in some kind of denial, running away from wherever she was from and hoping to find her own piece of Heaven in a place like the Coven. She was going to be so disappointed; Bedelia almost felt compassion for her… almost.

She could hear a faint trace of British accent in the girl’s voice. Possibly one of her parents wasn’t American, but she didn’t care to ask. She had the impression that sooner or later the girl would have told her anyways.

It was almost dawn when the girl next to her started to stir; it took her few minutes to fully wake up and when she did she looked at her watch muttering a curse.

Was she late for something?

Alice started the engine and pushed on the gas pedal, Bedelia closed her eyes for a moment, when the wheels squeaked against the asphalt.

“Sorry,” Alice looked into the rearview mirror, noticing the black stripes that she left behind. “I want to make it before breakfast time”.

“Is there a particular reason?” she asked, looking out of her window. She was going too fast for her liking.

“Yep,” she replied, looking at the other woman for a brief moment. “I’m starving”.

* * *

When Alice finally spotted the sign that welcomed them to New Orleans, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

She was happy to be there and she was also very nervous about the whole situation; she took a deep breath and turned her head to her traveling companion. “So,” she said, “where to?” she was intending to leave Bedelia and then proceed to the Coven, but apparently Bedelia had other plans.

“The Coven” she replied, breathing slowly through her nose and fixing her eyes before her.

“You’ve changed your mind?” Alice tried to remember the way, but at that point it was harder than she thought. “Pass me the map inside the drawer, would you?”

Bedelia bent over, keeping the left leg stiffly straightened – once again she wondered about it, and once again she didn’t question the other woman. “No, I haven’t” she replied, pulling the drawer open. “It was my intention to reach the Coven from the beginning”.

“What?” Alice seemed a bit offended, “Then why didn’t you tell me before?”

Bedelia started roaming inside the drawer, there was all sorts of stuff inside it.

“Sorry about the mess,” the girl tried to reach what she needed, but she ended up dropping a book that landed with a thud, next to Bedelia’s feet. “I’m sorry!” she repeated, feeling guilty and trying to make up for it by picking up some of the stuff, but Bedelia stopped her and proceeded to grab the book herself.

“Just,” she said softly, “keep your eyes on the road… please” she looked tired. Maybe she didn’t sleep too well.

“Okay…” Alice did as she was told, taking another deep breath and when Bedelia found the map, she didn’t pass it to her, instead, she started giving her directions on where to go.

Minutes passed in complete silence. It was new… Alice had nothing to say.

That stranger, met the night before, was going to the same place she was heading to. They would have met anyways; it was quite funny, thinking about it.

She realized that she didn’t need to know about her leg – or whatever else she wanted to know about the woman beside her – in a short period of time, and that was refreshing.

Bedelia was intriguing and she surely had her fair number of secrets, she was the kind of person Alice wanted to talk to.

“My sister…” Bedelia began, and Alice gave her a quick glance before turning her had to the road once again, “she’s in charge of the Coven”.

It took a while for the information to sunk in and when it did, it was like a cold shower. It took all of Alice’s willpower not to stop the car straightaway. “Your sister is the fucking _Supreme_?”

Bedelia shivered at the name, but nodded. “As my mother before her” it looked like she was talking to herself, her voice was low and her words a bit blurred. “I thought you’d wanted to know before we arrive”.

“Why, thank you…” Alice said, sarcastically. “How very nice of you”.

The older woman shrugged, shifting in her seat and giving her back to the girl, resting her head against the cold window, closing her eyes to rest a bit – for the first time in weeks.

* * *

_FROM EDUCATION, AS THE LEADING CAUSE_

_THE PUBLIC CHARACTER ITS COLOR DRAWS_

Bedelia read those words automatically in her mind, as she left the car and approached the towering black gate.

Her eyes fixed on the stone plaque, she remembered a time in her youth when those words actually meant something.

Dogs started barking in the distance; by the sound of their growls, they were pretty big dogs.

She saw Alice, out of the corner of her eye, opening her trunk and picking up a big backpack.

“I don’t like dogs” she said, from the car.

Bedelia didn’t answer; she reached the gate and pushed the doorbell with a gloved finger.

A melody came from somewhere, giving her the chills, and the dogs started barking louder.

After a moment, the gates started opening and Bedelia entered the property without waiting for Alice, leaning on her cane as she started wondering if it had been a good idea coming there.

The house was the only safe place she could think about at the moment, but all its stairs were going to be a bit of a problem.

She could hear Alice’s steps behind her, and her voice followed. “You have no bags,” she noticed. “How come you have no bags?”

“Everything I need is here” she simply answered, without looking at the girl.

A wave of excitement filled her veins, as she approached the majestic house.

There she was, before Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies and all kind of memories flooded her mind, as an overwhelming melancholic feeling started to move her.

God, she _hated_ that place, and yet it was the only place she thought about when her whole world crumbled apart.

Maybe it would have been better without her mother’s presence. Though she was sure her ghost still haunted those chambers. She really hoped she was having a terrific time in hell, or wherever she was now.

The white doors of the house opened and two figures stepped onto the porch. A woman and a boy behind her.

She recognized her sister after a couple of seconds – it had been years since the last time they saw each other, and she had no idea who the boy was, but he was dressed as a butler.

She forced a smile on her lips as her little sister reached her and put her arms around her shoulders, hugging her tightly. A joyful little laugh filled the air when Cordelia let her sister go, her eyes sparkling in delight.

“I can’t believe you’re here, sister” she said, then she glanced over her shoulder – probably noticing Alice behind them, but Bedelia didn’t say anything. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“Actually,” Bedelia sighed, her eyes started studying the surroundings of the house. Nothing had changed, apparently. “I’m here to stay,” that seemed to surprise Cordelia, but she didn’t say a thing. “If you allow me to, of course” she added, with a small smile.

Cordelia nodded, joining her hands below her chin – then she finally fixed her eyes on the young woman behind her. “Forgive my rudeness; how can I help you?” she asked kindly.

Bedelia turned just her head in Alice’s direction, she was about to speak but she preceded her. “She’s with me”.

It was almost a whisper, but her sister got the hint and turned her head towards the boy, “Kyle, why don’t you take her bags?”

The boy passed her and a shiver ran down her spine, she didn’t move. It was then that Cordelia noticed her cane. “Is something wrong?”

Bedelia shook her head, sizing the steps and counting them. There were only a few, she could make it without too much effort.

Her sister awkwardly tried to help her, but after the first two steps it was obvious that Bedelia didn’t want to be helped, she only wanted her time to climb the stairs.

A loud and sharp voice came from behind her back, “I’m Alice, by the way!” she turned around once she reached the front porch, the girl was still standing at the bottom of the stairs, with her arms open wide and a frown on her face.

Bedelia had to turn around again, to hide her smile.

The first thing she noticed when she entered the hall, it was the massive crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling; then the impressive marmoreal staircase.

“You’re going to need a room on the first floor,” Cordelia tapped her bottom lip with her index finger, then she took a quick look around as if she was focusing about something. “We could put a bed in one of the studies” she said, more to herself. “Kyle, would you mind arranging a few things for my sister?”

The boy nodded with a smile and he started climbing the stairs quickly until he disappeared onto one of the upper floors.

“May we have a few words, Cordelia?” Bedelia asked, fixing her hair nervously. “In private…” she added, turning her head to Alice.

The girl looked more than glad to be left alone in the house, she didn’t complain one bit.

“Of course,” her sister agreed happily, “Alice, let me show you the Ancestry Room. The girls and the children are out on a school trip, no one should bother you” she smiled, gesturing the girl to follow her.

Bedelia took a deep breath as the two left, she took advantage of that time alone to recollect her thoughts and decide what to tell her sister.

When Cordelia joined her again, they reached one of the studies – possibly the one that was going to be her new bedroom.

Bedelia sat on a big armchair while her sister filled two glasses with fine red wine, she still remembered her preferences.

“Isn’t it a bit early for wine?” she asked, accepting the glass. Her sister didn’t replied to that comment.

“So,” Cordelia began, sitting on a sofa in front of her, “how are you holding up?”

She took a long sip from her wine, letting the liquid caress her tongue and fill her throat, warming her chest. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, savouring the drink. She needed something stronger.

“I…” she didn’t want to give away too much, but she also wanted to give something to her own flesh and blood, “had my ups and downs”.

“And where are you now?” she asked.

“I dug my own grave and now I’m trying to reach the surface again” she replied.

Cordelia smiled a compassionate smile, sipping again at her wine. “You seem to be doing fine out of the ground, sister” she said sincerely.

Bedelia laughed a bitter laugh, “I left a piece behind”.

Her sister looked confused, but when Bedelia bent over to her ankle to lift the fabric of her trousers a few inches, she barley contained a surprised gasp. “Oh my God…” she got up and reached the armchair, kneeling down to take a closer look at the prostatic limb. “What happened to you?”

Her foot looked normal but when she lifted her trouser, Cordelia realized that the leg was fake. There was a circular junction where her ankle should have been, the front of her leg was smooth and shiny, it almost looked like porcelain but when she brushed her fingers on the top of it, it felt more like a hard plastic material. The calf was a curved, intricate metal plate.

Cordelia couldn’t see beyond the fabric, but she knew that it wasn’t just the leg missing but also part of her thigh, at least – by the way she walked.

“The official story is that I had a brutal car accident,” Bedelia replied, letting the fabric go, and like a silky sheet, it fell to cover her leg again. “It’s…” she sighed, waiting for her sister to get up, “more complicated than that, though”.

“You don’t want to tell me?”

“There’s not much to tell, honestly” she felt so uncomfortable, talking about that subject. Telling her the truth would have meant having to share a lot of details she wanted to keep for herself. She was ashamed, it was just her fault. “I…” –   _have been a reckless idiot that had it coming_ – “should have been more careful with my life choices” she said, implying that she wasn’t going to say anything else.

“What can I do for you?” Cordelia had always been comprehensive, she was a better human being than she was. God, some days she didn’t even feel like a human being anymore.

“Let me stay here…” she said, with faint voice – emptying her glass wishing it was whiskey, “and don’t tell anyone where I am”.

Cordelia sighed, obviously worried about her sister, but she nodded.

* * *

Alice was having the time of her life; the room was incredible. She loved old paintings and all those women in the pictures were looking through her soul. She could almost hear them talking to her.

The eyes of all the previous Supremes were following her around the room, judging and studying her figure.

She almost didn’t hear Bedelia’s sister approaching the door. “That’s my mother,” she said and Alice almost jerked away from the painting at the sound of her voice. “Well, _was_ my mother” she corrected herself with a small smile.

The woman entered the room giving a quick look at her mother’s painting but she averted her eyes almost immediately.

“I’m Cordelia, nice to meet you Alice” they shook hands and walked a bit side by side, as they left the room and started climbing the beautiful staircase. After few steps, a loud thud shook the floor, “It’s probably just Kyle, don’t worry” Cordelia reassured her, with a smile as they kept going. “So, how do you know my sister?” she asked.

Alice shrugged, “Actually, we met last night” she replied, “We were going to the same place and I gave her a lift in my car”.

“I see,” Cordelia seemed surprised, she didn’t wonder why – Bedelia seemed quite… out of the ordinary, but she was standing in a huge establishment where young witches were forged, so what was ordinary and what was not? “Do you want to start taking classes here?”

Once again she was mistaken for a witch, this time she didn’t laugh. “No, actually… but,” she stopped and turned around, facing the Supreme. She smiled her best cocky smile, hoping to impress her, “you don’t need a maid by any chance?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering, this is how I imagined bedelia's fake leg:  
> http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120424084431-designer-prosthetic-legs-3-horizontal-large-gallery.jpg


	3. Meeting the girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second day doesn't go exactly as planned... dealing with witches isn't as cool as it may sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Alice's POV, the next one is going to be from Bedelia's and possibly a small part from Cordelia's.  
> Some weird shit is going to happen, so be prepared!

The house was gigantic, but the job wasn’t bad. There were three other maids and they equally divided the workload between them.

After only one day Alice already felt like she was home. No, that place was so much better than home…

That place was huge, safe… she didn’t have to worry about money or where to spend the night anymore. It took her some time, but she could finally start a new life.

She met the whole Coven. There was Cordelia, the Supreme; and Zoe and Queenie, they were like senior students or something… always tottering around Cordelia.

About twenty more teenagers and a bunch of little girls; there were also a few older witches and then there was Kyle – boy, that dude was creepy.

It was like Hogwarts, but only for girls.

She was sleeping in the attic, a room full of dolls and tiny plastic teacups. She loved that room so much, it really looked like home… the real one, not the fake one.

Cordelia was a bit skeptical before letting her sleep there, but Alice reassured her.

The first night she slept like a baby; no nightmares, no weird dreams… best sleep she had in years.

It was the start of her second working day; she put on her uniform and she started fixing her hair.

She was given a black mid-thigh dress with a nice Peter Pan collar, and a white apron with a large pocket on the front. She was also given a pair of polished black shoes, identical to a pair she owned when she was seven or eight years old – during her two orphanage years, before being adopted and brought to America by her new foster family.

After checking in a mirror that her golden hair bun was neat, she left her room and went upstairs, to have a quick breakfast and start a new day.

Most people would have found tidying up other people’s rooms a poor job, but she actually liked it. She liked the idea that she was allowed to snoop around someone else’s wardrobes and drawers.

One of the girls had a few boxes of weed hidden under her bed, another one had a full collection of sex toys, seeing them actually made her feel enviable.

The third room was already perfect. She realized that it was – what was her name? Andy’s room. That girl was really strange; she didn’t speak a word… ever.

Cordelia told her that she was a special girl, she could read minds and sometimes she could communicate telepathically but she never spoke a word in her life. That was unusual enough for her, but now her room was immaculate, maybe she was OCD or something… or maybe she didn’t spend the night there.

When she was done with the rooms, she went to the kitchen – she wasn’t able to cook, not even an egg, but she helped with the washing up.

Two of the other maids weren’t so great; they liked talking shit about the girls and making fun of them for being witches. The other one, Christina, was okay.

At lunchtime, the kitchen was filled with all kind of smells. Alice didn’t know about the existence of a cook. She was an old, fat woman with bad breath and grayish hair.

Alice was organizing the cutlery when Bedelia entered the room; she was wearing different clothes from the day before.

The elegant suit was gone and she was now wearing a loose dark blouse with a black pencil skirt. And now Alice couldn’t stop staring at the prosthetic limb. God, she _needed_ to know what happened to her. Curiosity was eating her alive.

Bedelia seemed surprised for a second by the fact that the kitchen was busy, but she didn’t seem to care too much. “Excuse me,” she said to no one in particular as she reached one of the liquor cellars. She took a glass, and poured herself a generous amount of pink wine.

So that was what brought the queen to the rabbit hole?

Bedelia caught her staring, but none of them adverted their eyes when they met. Should she feel ashamed? Or embarrassed? Maybe a normal person should have lowered her gaze.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the cook, who turned to Bedelia as she not so kindly asked her if she wanted to try the chicken soup.

Chicken soup in May? Really?

The woman straightened her back and shook her head, “No, thank you” she said with a cold smile on her lips. “I don’t eat anything with a central nervous system” that said, she turned her back to the old woman and left without another word.

Alice was tempted to leave forks, spoons and knives there, just to follow Bedelia outside the kitchen and… well she didn’t want to tell her anything in particular actually, she just wanted to study her a little more.

Cleaning up after lunch was an infamous job… there was no satisfaction in that, but she had the chance to chat with Christina a bit.

She was a real nice girl; twenty-five, no home, no close family. It looked like the Coven was a refuge for stray dogs.

She had an uncle in Virginia, but she didn’t really know him, so the Academy was her last hope. Cordelia took her under her care without asking questions, just like she did with her.

Christina was younger than she was and Alice decided that she was going to be like her little sister. She never really wanted one, but Christina had those big brown puppy eyes and an intriguing halo around her. She was quiet and shy, she did her job without complaining about anything. Alice liked having her around.

It was afternoon when the two sat on Christina’s bed, in her room. The girl shared the room with Samantha, on of the mean maids. The house was so big, there wasn’t any need of sharing, but apparently Christina was very afraid of the dark and Samantha didn’t mind having a little slave of her own.

“She never really sleeps here much,” the girl had a tiny voice, and it was weird because she was way taller than Alice, it was almost comical. “She sneaks out of the window almost every night, God knows where she goes…”

“I could give you some of my dolls… they look at you every second, even in the dark. It’s like never being alone” that seemed like a nice thing to say, but by Christina’s reaction Alice hinted that maybe it wasn’t. “Did I say something wrong?” she asked.

“Geez, you’re nuts” the girl laughed nervously, “I really can’t imagine how you manage to sleep in that creepy place”.

“It’s not that bad!” she exclaimed with a big smile, a warm sensation filled her chest – was it joy? “It reminds me of home. Many years ago, I used to live with my parents. Not the real ones, the fake ones and I had this big room, filled with toys and there was a big dollhouse. I used to have tea parties with my friends”.

Christina looked puzzled, “Your fake parents?” she asked frowning.

Alice nodded with a serious face. “My foster parents”.

“You were adopted? I’m sorry…”

“No! They were really nice people” their faces popped in her mind. Her fake mother’s red hair and her fake father’s big white teeth.

“What happened to them? If I may ask” Christina was starting to feel more comfortable in Alice’s presence. It was a good thing; Alice didn’t like people who looked nervous around her, it made her feel like she was doing something wrong.

“My dad died, and my mother…” how could she explain what happened after? “She didn’t want to see me again. She was so shocked, I think she went into a mental hospital for a while”.

A shadow passed over the girl’s face and Alice felt her stiffening. “I am so sorry, really. How did he die?”

“He fell out of a window” she simply replied. Other memories filled her mind. This time they were a bit hazed, she didn’t remember much. She tended to put the bad memories at the back of her mind, trying to forget them.

Alice saw curiosity sparkling in Christina’s eyes, mixed with the knowledge that it wasn’t really proper to ask more information about the event. It was a feeling Alice knew all too well.

A knock on the door caused the two girls to jump, but Cordelia’s voice came from behind the closed door. “Alice? Are you in here?”

“Yep! Comin’” with a fluid motion, she stretched her legs and reached the ground, turning her head to the brunette. “The big boss’ showing me her secret place” she winked and Christina smiled.

Once Cordelia found out Alice’s passion for plants and flowers, she immediately wanted to show her her greenhouse – and the young woman was enthusiastic about it.

It was a warm afternoon, the sun was shining above the big white house and the green of the back yard was almost too bright.

As they reached the wooden door, the dogs started barking at the couple – well, at Alice.

They were a bunch of German Shepherds, with evil eyes. She was a cat person, dogs weren’t really her thing.

“Oh, you!” Cordelia scolded the animals, and they immediately shut up with a guilty whine. “There, good boys” she turned to Alice with a small smile. “I’m sorry, they usually don’t behave like this”.

“It’s okay” Alice said, “If they bite me, I’ll bite them back”.

Cordelia laughed, as she unlocked the door and entered the room. It was way hotter in there, and the air was thick and filled with so many smells that Alice couldn’t focus on just one.

There were thousands of plants that she couldn’t name, and a few that she already knew. They spent two whole hours in there; Cordelia showed her some of her favourite herbs, she explained to her their medical use and she showed her a few magic tricks like making a dead rose bulb bloom.

Alice asked her if she could take care of a few species on her own and Cordelia gladly agreed, happy to have found someone who was enthusiastic about the greenhouse as she was. “You remind me of a friend of mine” she said at one point, while picking out the weeds from a beautiful vase of sweet williams.

Alice was following with her eyes the imponent ivy plant that covered every free spot of the room, she didn’t bother to avert her gaze. “Really?” she asked.

“Mh-mh” Cordelia hummed, chopping a dead branch from a tiny tree. “She loved spending her time here”.

“Where is she now?” Alice followed the ivy until her eyes met a small wooden box, and she approached it.

“She’s dead” Cordelia answered, with a sad tone in her voice.

“How?” Alice dusted the dirt from the surface of the box, and noticed the old lock that protected it from being opened. “What’s inside it?” the two questions had the same importance in her mind at the moment.

“It’s complicated. Nothing important, a few seeds that I still don’t know where to plant” the urgency in the Headmistress’ voice implied that she didn’t want to answer at least one of the asked questions.

Anyways, a loud voice boomed from outside and it was clear that something was happening.

They left the greenhouse in a rush; someone was screaming bloody hell inside the Academy.

As soon as they reached the front door, a peculiar show was in front of their eyes: three girls were at the centre of the hall, and the three maids were at the top of the staircase, glancing down at them.

One of the girls – Kim – was shouting at Christina because her room was a mess and she was missing some of her make-up products.

“What’s going on here, girls?” Cordelia stepped in between with wide eyes.

“That bitch said that we haven’t cleaned up her room” that was Karen, the other maid. Alice didn’t like her but she wasn’t a bad worker.

“Come on,” Zoe stepped out from nowhere and stood by Cordelia’s side, opening her arms as to separate Karen from Kim, “there’s no need to be rude, we can work this out”.

“You shut the fuck up, mama’s girl” Kim spitted out, jerking away when Kyle gave her a dreadful look and a… _growl_?  “What the hell is wrong with you? Hey princess, keep your boyfriend at bay”.

“Enough!” Cordelia put a hand on Zoe’s shoulder and the other one on Kyle’s. “Who was in charge of cleaning up Kim’s room this morning?”

Alice put her hands behind her back and interlaced her fingers together. “I was,” she said very calmly, “and I can assure you that the room was neat when I left”.

“Well honey I can assure you that my room is a fucking mess right now! There are clothes everywhere and the fucking bed is upside down”.

Alice shrugged with a cocky smile. “Maybe it was a ghost”.

“You’re trying to mess with me?” she started to approach her with a dangerous look in her eyes. “Bitch you stole my stuff, I want it back”.

Alice wasn’t afraid, but curious about what she would actually do. She couldn’t hide a grin. “Well then, maybe it was a _vain_ ghost”.

The young woman wasn’t used to deal with witches and she certainly wasn’t expecting to be thrown away by an invisible force as Kim moved her arm furiously.

Alice hit a window and it exploded into a million pieces, as she fell on the green grass with a groan.

Her whole body was in pain, she felt blood streaming from somewhere in the upper part of her body and her head was pounding mercilessly; screams filled the air but they were distant. She tried to get up, and it was than that she felt incredibly dizzy and lost consciousness.

* * *

When she opened her eyes she saw Bedelia’s face looking concerned at her. What the hell had happened?

She remembered the pain, and she lifted her right arm since the left one was kinda limp.

There was blood on her fingers, it wasn’t fresh. Was it hers? “I didn’t do it” she panicked, but a voice came from behind, reassuring her.

“We know, dear” Cordelia came into her view, she was pale and scared. “Maybe we need to take her to a hospital” she said to her sister.

Alice panicked again, “No!” she whispered, trying to get up, but Bedelia put her hands firmly on her shoulders and held her down. She was stronger than she looked.

“Stay down,” she ordered and Alice did as she said, “you might have a mild concussion. You hit your head and you’ve got minor injuries”.

“What?” Alice laid down, she realised she was on a sofa, in one of the restrooms. Bedelia was sitting on a chair beside her and Cordelia was behind them.

“It’s just some scratches” she heard another voice and tried to turn her head in that direction. Her sight doubled and she almost felt like vomiting. “Nothing too bad,” Queenie continued from wherever she was. “Could have been much worse”.

Nice to know, she thought. Memories started to come back.

“How do you feel?” that was Zoe, from somewhere in the room.

Alice laughed and it hurt. “Like I’ve been thrown out of a window”.

“You sure you don’t want to go to a hospital?” Queenie again, this time closer.

She shook her head – bad idea; Bedelia was now pointing a light in her face, probably checking her pupils. “No hospitals”.

“Follow my finger,” once again Alice did as she was told. Bedelia didn’t look so concerned anymore.

She reached her head with the right hand and felt a twinge of pain, she whined and Bedelia took away her hand, keeping it in her own. “I stitched you,” she said and Alice took a look at her painful arm. “You had a shard of glass deep inside your forearm, don’t touch the stitches or it’s going to get infected”.

“I’m going to prepare some ointments for you” Cordelia sat beside her and put her hands on her shoulder; she smiled at her in a maternal way that made Alice’s chest warm a little.

“Thank you” she said, then she looked at Bedelia, “I did clean Kim’s room this morning, I swear”.

Queenie took a step forward and she finally was in her eyesight. “We know, don’t worry. Kim probably got so high she didn’t even remember messin’ everything up”.

“She’s a real bitch, don’t bother about her” Zoe smiled at her.

It was nice having so many people worried about you, believing your side of the story. “Yeah, as long as she doesn’t jerk me around like a freaking doll again”.

Bedelia got up, leaning against her cane. “Go to sleep, rest for a few days and you are going to be fine”.

Until that moment Alice hadn’t realised that it was dark outside. How long had she been unconscious?

As Bedelia left the room, Cordelia helped her to her feet. “Zoe, would you walk Alice to her room?”

“Sure. Come on, I’ve got you” the girl smiled as she carefully helped the young woman climb the seemingly infinite stairs until they reached the attic.

Alice sat on her bed while Zoe looked nervously around. “This place gives me the creeps” she admitted, trying to ignore all the dolls that were staring at them. “Do you mind if I go back to my room now?”

“Not at all, go…” Alice took a deep breath and put her legs on the bed, ignoring the pain in her body. “Thank you”.

“Goodnight”.

As soon as Zoe left the room, Alice tried to get undressed using only her good arm – that wasn’t so good after all. It was black and blue, all bruised and scratched.

She really needed some sleep now; she decided that she could sleep in her uniform.

Her hair was already free from the bun; she couldn’t help imagining Bedelia picking up the glass shreds from her golden, bloody strands while she was asleep. She didn’t even know if it was actually Bedelia who did the job, but until further information, she was going to believe that way.

Alice was almost asleep when she heard a voice whispering incoherent words, and she believed she had imagined it, or maybe she was already dreaming.

She heard another noise and she opened her eyes, slowly sitting up in her bed.

The dolls were all looking at her, the light of the moon through the curtains gave them living eyes.

The tea table was prepared as usual; teacups were empty and the chairs were occupied by stuffed dolls except for one, reserved for herself.

No – her chair was occupied, but she was sure it wasn’t just a few moments ago.

A beautiful porcelain doll was sitting in her place. She had big blue eyes and long golden locks like her own. She was wearing a beautiful light blue dress, refined with silk and lace.

The doll lifted her head and turned to Alice’s direction. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight and when she talked, her lips remained still. “Hi, Barbie”.


	4. Creepiness intensifies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Bedelia tries to adjust herself to her new life, Alice tries to explain to herself what had happened the night before.  
> Cordelia is starting to worry about something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, this chapter is mainly by Bedelia's POV, there is a small part from Cordelia's - and I really liked writing that part.

Bedelia was sitting on a bench in the garden around the house; the sun had been up less than an hour – and she was already completely high. She couldn’t care less.

Birds were tweeting happily in the surrounding trees, the air was chilly from the night just passed; she could feel the wet dew tickling against only one of her ankles.

Will Graham’s voice boomed in the back of her head, clear and sound. _How’d you manage to walk away unscarred? I’m covered in scars._

She stretched both of her legs, sliding down the bench so that only her head and shoulders were resting against its back.

She wiggled her right foot a bit, and then she wiggled the other, she felt an uncomfortable shift in the juncture between foot and leg – it almost looked real.

Bedelia sighed, looking up at the sky. It was a deep blue ocean, no clouds were visible. She blinked a few times, thinking about the last time that it rained. She used to enjoy the rain, but now… now it was just a problem with her new walking situation. Slippery surfaces were dreadful.

It wasn’t just the rain. She couldn’t run – and God only knew if she would have needed that ability one day; she couldn’t climb the stairs easily and that damn house was just a bunch of stairs and rooms. She couldn’t drive but that wasn’t a big deal… she had never been a great driver anyways, now she could just use the prostatic leg as an excuse.

Letting her head fall completely backwards beyond the rim of the bench, a few strands of hair got trapped between it and her back. She freed them with a lazy motion and closed her eyes again.

She hadn’t slept all night, again. When it was a good day, she was lucky to get two hours of sleep.

Every time she turned the lights off and closed her eyes, the same images appeared behind her lids.

She was sitting at that damn table, waiting for her hosts to come back to enjoy the feast. And the taste, her own taste, she could still feel it on her tongue if she tried really hard. Nausea clenched her stomach and she had to take a deep breath through her mouth not to feel sick.

Did she really believe that she was going to be fine just changing her address? For a moment, maybe she did.

She was alive, what a joy.

Bedelia hated that place with every fibre of her body – even the fake parts.

It reminded her of her childhood, it reminded her of her obnoxious mother. Thank God she was soil fertilizer now. She probably wouldn’t have any place to go if she was still alive.

She definitely wasn’t going to come back to her, crawling at her feet – those were probably the last words she ever heard from her.

An amused smile crept on her lips – she won that game, at least. She survived her mother, it was more than she expected when she left the first time.

“What’s so funny?” Alice’s voice startled her, as she sensed the girl collapsing next to her with a thud. Maybe if she just ignored her, she would have left her alone. “Come on, don’t be so harsh!”

Maybe not. Bedelia opened only one eye, too bothered to open both, but the girl’s appearance made her wince. “What happened to you?” she asked, her voice a bit slurred, perhaps. Alice had blue bags under her eyes, her hair was lacking the glow she was now used to and her skin was paler than usual. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you really look like hell”.

“I flew through a window, what’s your excuse?” the girl retorted with a sly smile. At least her attitude remained intact.

She didn’t reply, instead she closed her eyes again and turned her head to the sky once more. She really wasn’t in the mood for small chats.

When Alice poked her hip, though, she shifted with a groan. “I haven’t slept at all, and I would love to be left alone, thank you”.

“Oh my God, you’re _so_ high” the girl almost laughed, but Bedelia didn’t react, “You want to share some? I could really use whatever you had”.

“I’m not—” she started, but she stopped and sighed. “It’s prescribed self-medication. For my leg, so _please_ would you leave me alone, now?”

“Self-medication my ass…” the girl shifted in her seat and when Bedelia took a peek, Alice was settled with her legs crossed over the bench board.

Few minutes passed, Bedelia thought she was going to be fine. The young woman wasn’t that bad when she kept her mouth closed.

Then she spoke again and the magic broke. “So, you’re a shrink, right?” she asked.

Bedelia lazily turned her head to Alice, looking at her through half-closed lids. “Psychiatrist,” she corrected her, “and no, I don’t exercise anymore”.

“I just need a quick medical opinion” she insisted, with a childish voice.

“It didn’t end well with my last patient”.

“It didn’t end well with my last psychiatrist…”

That last sentence captured Bedelia’s attention, so she fixed her eyes into the girl’s, shifting to her side, the best she could. “I’m afraid I coudn’t do much in my current situation,” she admitted. “My mind is…” she struggled finding an adjective that wasn’t mocking, “dazed”.

“I can see that,” once again Alice seemed on the point of bursting into laughter, “wanna give it a try?”

Bedelia shrugged, rolling her eyes.

“Okay, fine so…” Alice cleared her voice, looking for words, “let’s say I used to have, I don’t know, let’s say hallucinations”.

Bedelia didn’t like where the conversation was going, but she stayed quiet.

“And… well, let’s say that I saw something last night, and that it hadn’t happened in a while…”

“You have been through a lot yesterday. You injured your head, I wouldn’t worry too much” Bedelia reassured her, inhaling slowly and deciding that the consultation was over.

“Okay, okay… good. I won’t” Alice cleared her throat again, then she stood up and put her arms around her upper body, uncomfortably. “It’s just that it felt wrong, like I was going mad or something. I was honestly hoping for something more… don’t you wanna check on me or something?”

“I thought you didn’t like psychiatrists” Bedelia taunted her, with a small smile.

The girl rolled her eyes. “What do you want me to say? You’re a good looking one”.

Bedelia sighed, her moment of peace ruined forever. She sat straight, the haze of her sedative was starting to fade. “Just rest. If you feel dizzy, have nausea or your sight gets worse – come to me again,” she said, and the girl seemed a bit relieved. “I’ll ask my sister to prepare a relaxing potion for you”.

“Can we not call it ‘potion’ please?”

“I’ll ask my sister to prepare a relaxing _herbal infusion_ for you”.

“Thank you”.

* * *

Cordelia was in her greenhouse; her mind was completely focused on her task.

Her sister seemed concerned about Alice’s health; she didn’t even try to suggest to go to the hospital again, it was obvious that the woman had something against that idea.

Luckily, Bedelia was a doctor and she could use her skills in potions to ease the physical pain and to help her relax after the previous days trauma.

It had been a little more than six months since she was crowned new Supreme and sometimes she just felt the same as she was before.

The reality was that she had a lot more responsibilities and  a lot more people relied on her.

Those moments with the flowers and plants and herbs were the only one she could alienate from all the noises and the chaotic life of the Coven.

A musty scent was coming from the mortar she was using, she put in a bit of black powder and then she put the whole thing in a glass bottle with a transparent liquid inside.

She shook the bottle and smelled the potion; it was perfect.

Cordelia was so happy that her sister joined the Coven; she missed her very deeply. And when she showed up in her… _condition_ , she really didn’t know what to think.

Bedelia didn’t want to tell her what had happened, and she didn’t insist. She didn’t know anything about her life choices.

The last time she heard from her was when she called her to inform her about the death of their mother and before that, at least four years had passed since the last phone call.

Her sister left when she was only eight; she barely saw her after. The first years, she called and sometimes they had secret meetings, when Bedelia went to college everything became more complicated.

She was so glad they could fixed their relationship; on the other hand – Bedelia didn’t look so happy to be there. 

Her sister never liked the place, how could she blame her?

She went back to the main house; Alice was probably in her room.

When she stepped into the lunchroom, she noticed a group of little girls sitting at the table. Andy was with them; she didn’t befriend any of the girls of her age but she loved playing with the little ones.

They had this game where one of the children held an object in one of her hands, behind her back and Andy had to pick up the right hand.

She always won; Cordelia knew that she could even talk with a few of the little girls, telepathically. Andy was such a sweetheart, she wished she could help her more.

“Miss Cordelia?” one of the girls called and she stopped, it was Mary – a seven year old with pyrotechnic abilities. “Andy wants me to tell you something” she said.

Cordelia smiled at the child and then turned to Andy, “What is it, dear?”

Andy looked slightly afraid, she locked her eyes into Cordelia’s and the woman felt an uncomfortable shiver running through her spine. Mary spoke again in Andy’s place and Cordelia shifted her eyes from the girl to the child. “She wants me to tell you not to go upstairs”.

With a frown on her face, Cordelia kneeled before the child – she actually didn’t know who to look at, so she put a hand on Mary’s shoulder but lifted her head in Andy’s direction. “Why’s that?”

“Because there’s an evil doll in there,” Mary said. Cordelia looked at her one more time. “And she wants to hurt you”.

With a small sigh, Cordelia stood up and kissed the top of Mary’s head before turning to Andy and the other little girls. “You don’t have to worry. Not one bit,” she said with a big smile. “You know why?” she asked in a questioning tone.

One of the girls lifted her little arm, asking for permission.

Cordelia’s smile widened. “Yes, Cheryl?”

“Because you’re the Supreme and you’re stronger than anybody else and you will protect our Coven” the girl recited as if it was a poem she had learned by heart.

Cordelia nodded with satisfaction, as a delighted sensation filled her chest. Those girls were the reason why she loved her new life. “Exactly,” she said, “I won’t let _anything_ happen to any of you”.

“You promise?” asked Mary and Cordelia didn’t know if it was the child or Andy speaking.

“I promise” she answered.

Alice was in her room as she believed; she was very tired – Cordelia didn’t need to be a telepath to know that.

“How are you doing?” she asked her, sitting next to her on her bed.

The young woman shrugged, taking the bottle that Cordelia was handing to her. “Thanks,” she said and smelled what was inside the bottle with a grimace. “I—” she started, she seemed really exhausted, she probably hadn’t slept at all. “I’m not sure, actually” she admitted, lowering her gaze.

“Drink it up, you’ll feel better” Cordelia smiled, caressing the side of her head, smoothing her hair as a mother would have done. She couldn’t help but feel protective over those girls – even if Alice wasn’t a member of her Coven, she was living under her roof and that was enough.

Alice emptied the bottle with two gulps, then she turned a little green – the taste wasn’t supposed to be a pleasant one. “What the hell was in that?” she asked, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

Cordelia smiled, taking the bottle back and holding it against her stomach. “You don’t want to know…” the frightened expression on the young woman’s face made her laugh a little, but she tried not to show it too much.

For a moment she considered to ask Alice about the doll that Mary – no, that _Andy_ was talking about, but she decided that it wasn’t the right moment.

Cordelia left the room, the whole day was still ahead her and the Coven didn’t run itself.

* * *

It was late night and Bedelia couldn’t sleep as usual. She spent the whole day on her own, reading the books that she had found in the library.

She hadn’t read anything about sorcery in ages and she had almost forgot how interesting all those stories were.

The light of the lamp gave the room a yellowish glow; Bedelia’s eyes were fixed on the prosthetic leg – no longer attached to her body, but carefully placed on a chair by the bed, next to her cane.

She was very tempted to inject herself with a syringe of her sedative and sleep a dreamless night, for once – but she remembered that sedated sleeps usually led to terrible nightmares once the narcotic was faded.

After a few moments of indecision, Bedelia decided that some shots of whiskey were definitely a better option than drugs; but she was short of alcohol in her room, so she had to get up.

That required concentration and a bit of patience – both qualities she excelled in.

The woman sat up as straight as she could and reached for her fake limb; trying not to make any noise, she placed the base of the prosthesis against her stump leg and started to attach all the strings and clips that kept it in place.

Garters weren’t necessary, but she was vain and she needed to know they were there, even if she could feel only one. The lace of her left garter covered the line between her skin and the plastic; she adjusted her nightgown and reached for her cane.

With its help, she stood up and put a silky robe on; she even considered the idea of leaving the room barefoot, but then she remembered that one of the windows had exploded only a day before and she decided that it wasn’t the most considerate idea.

She put on her right slipper easily, but she had to sit on her armchair to put the other one on her fake foot – she was used to it by now, but sometimes she still touched the prosthesis surprised by the fact that she couldn’t feel her own touch.

Bedelia left the room closing the door behind her and she proceeded slowly.  The corridors were dark and the house was incredibly silent. She could feel her heart pounding into her chest, rushing more than she was comfortable to admit.

She could already see the kitchen door when she almost slipped on something that someone left on the floor.

Bedelia looked down, cursing under her breath and when she realised what she had slipped on – she was sure her heart skipped a bit.

From under the closed door she was standing outside, a large stain of black ink was expanding rapidly.

It took her mind a few seconds to register the image – _the smell_ – and understand that it wasn’t black ink – but dark, thick blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo... what happened?  
> Someone's dead? Someone's injured?  
> I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see... :3


	5. Cleaning up messes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drunk bedelia and talking creepy dolls.  
> Shit is happening, some serious shit.

“Whoever did this to our Coven will pay,” her sister’s voice echoed against the walls of the Ancestry Room.

Everybody was in the room at that moment, minus the children. Bedelia was sitting on a sofa, silently listening to Cordelia’s sermon.

It was almost 5:00 AM, and some of the girls weren’t fully awake.

She found her dead mother’s eyes amongst the pictures on the wall; Fiona’s smile was sickening.

Cordelia was standing in front of her audience, her two young witches stood by her side with their hands joined in their lap and their heads lowered.

She could hear muffled sobs somewhere in the room and some girls were whispering.

Bedelia had found the body less than an hour before; her sister knew how to handle an emergency.

“Shouldn’t we call the police?” a voice from the crowd suggested. The idea was awful; she really didn’t need the police to know who she was and where she was.

“No,” her sister replied firmly. “No one could enter this property without permission, I am sure of it” the resoluteness in Cordelia was something new to her. She was glad her sister turned out that way. “Whoever’s responsible for Andy’s death is amongst us – and even if this is a painful consideration, I am sure of it” she repeated.

“So what do we do?” another voice, a little shaken.

“We deal with it our way,” Zoe’s voice was as conceited as Cordelia’s, “We’ll find out who did this to Andy and we’ll give her justice”.

Bedelia couldn’t believe that two young girls as Queenie and Zoe were now members of the Witches Council; but if her sister had decided that way – being now Supreme _and_ Head of the Council, she couldn’t object the decision.

“We’re gonna burn the killer at the stake” Queenie said angrily and Cordelia put a hand on her shoulder.

“After a fair trial, we’ll decide what to do” Cordelia said and both Queenie and Zoe looked up at her without saying a word, but their facial expressions betrayed them.

The two girls were feral, she liked them.

“Now,” her sister took a step forward and joined her hands together, “I suggest all of you to go back to your rooms and lock the doors. Tomorrow the Council will start questioning the Coven for information”.

When everybody left, the only people in the room were the Council members, the Supreme, Kyle and Bedelia.

“What about her parents?” Queenie asked, locking the door carefully.

Cordelia put down the Headmistress’ mask and sunk in a chair, covering her face with her hands. “That’s the least of our problems,” she said without looking up, “they never call, if it wasn’t for me they probably wouldn’t even know if their daughter was still—” she stopped, taking a deep breath. Her shoulders rose up and fell down heavily.

Kyle sat beside her and put a big hand on her back, to comfort her. Cordelia lowered her hands and smiled kindly at the boy. “Thank you” she said, her voice quivered.

Bedelia stood up and went to the window, she moved the curtains aside and looked out. The sun was starting to rise; another sleepless night had passed. “Where’s the body now?” she asked.

“In the greenhouse,” Zoe answered, “Kyle brought her there”.

“I want to see if I can find out something,” her sister explained, “I haven’t had a vision in months but maybe I can try”.

“Can’t you try to bring her back?” Queenie suggested and Bedelia’s thoughts went to a halt, as she turned to her sister. Could she do that?

“No!” it wasn’t her sister, but Kyle who spoke – it was probably the first time that she heard his voice.

Zoe gave her boyfriend a sad smile and Queenie nodded. “Sorry,” she said resting her back against the door.

“Bringing back someone from the dead is not an easy matter,” Cordelia said, looking at Queenie. “You never know how things will turn out”.

The idea of resurrecting someone was both terrible and interesting to Bedelia’s ears. She knew that it was indeed possible, but she had never actually thought about it before.

“Zoe, Queenie, will you please go and make sure that the girls are in their rooms?” Cordelia asked and then she turned to the boy, “Kyle, please, go and fetch one of the maids to see if someone can clean up the mess in the bathroom”.

Bedelia was sure that Cordelia made those arrangements only to remain alone with her; when the three left, her sister hugged her as she joined her by the window.

“You’re doing great” Bedelia said. “Your speech was impeccable and your decision to not condemned the  murderer immediately was very considerate,” she didn’t bother to smile or to turn her head to her sister. Her eyes were still fixed on the railing that surrounded the Coven’s property . “Considering the fact that it’s a very likely hypothesis that whoever killed the poor girl was also in the room with the rest of us” her voice lowered as she spoke.

Cordelia nodded, “I know” she said. “Are you sure you didn’t hear anything?”

Bedelia fixed her hair with a lazy motion of her hand, she straightened her back and inhaled deeply. She still needed that drink… “Yes,” she said, “I am”.

After a long pause, her sister spoke again. “There’s something I haven’t told the girls,” Cordelia’s voice quivered as she tried to hold her breath. When Bedelia didn’t ask, she continued. “Yesterday one of the children spoke to me on Andy’s behalf”.

The information didn’t surprise Bedelia, Cordelia told her about Andy’s abilities and the special connection that she had with a few of the little girls of the Coven.

“I was going to see how Alice was doing and she stopped me. She asked me not to go upstairs because an evil doll wanted to hurt me”.

After another long pause, Bedelia finally made eye contact with her sister. “Andy was a child in the body of a young girl”, she said in a serious tone. “In the few times I’ve spent here recently and during my childhood, I have heard enough stories about the attic not to want to go upstairs myself” the look in Cordelia’s eyes didn’t change. “Imagine what those stories might cause in the fragile mind of a child, or worse… in the mind of a girl who can not only hear the horror stories, but who can also read the unspoken fears of every soul inside this house, about that room”.

“So you’re saying that it was a coincidence?” her sister didn’t seem so convinced.

Bedelia adverted her eyes. She met her mother’s stare, the cold smile on Fiona’s lips made her shiver in disgust. “What I’m saying is that Andy was very fond of you and she projected everybody’s fears in what she thought might be the cause of it”.

Cordelia was trying hard not to start crying. Her sister could almost feel the clench in her chest as she tried to breathe. “Then why would someone want to kill such a sweet girl like Andy? She was so innocent, so—” a sob stopped her and she had to cover her mouth with both hands.

Bedelia didn’t blink; her professional attitude taught her how to behave in those situations, even if she wasn’t working and Cordelia wasn’t her patient. “Perhaps,” she suggested, “Andy heard something she shouldn’t have” Bedelia could only imagine what a person like her might feel. Everybody’s thoughts inside one little head; no wonder she never spoke to anyone in person. “Being able to read people’s mind is a dangerous ability” she stated. She had met the girl just once and that was enough for her, she tried to avoid her as much as she could, not wanting someone using her mind as a playground. “Maybe someone feared that his or her secrets were in danger”.

“What kind of secrets make you kill another human being?” her sister knew the answer, but she was repelled by it as well.

“I think I may know a few” images of her past flashed before her eyes; she tried to keep them at bay, but she was tired. “I’m going to bed now. I’ll see you in the morning”.

As Bedelia left the room, she realised it was already morning. It was too early for a shot of whiskey, but she decided that since the sun wasn’t high in the sky yet – it was late enough, ignoring the time and trusting the light outside the window.

She reached the kitchen and she poured herself a generous amount of alcohol; she emptied the glass in one gulp and she repeated the action three more times before leaving the room with a full glass in one hand and a half-empty bottle under her arm.

It was unavoidable to walk pass the bathroom in order to reach her bedroom; her intention was to head straight to her bedroom, ignoring the smell of blood. But when she left the kitchen it wasn’t the smell of blood that reached her nostrils, but the strong smell of ammonia and chemical agents.

Moved by curiosity, Bedelia stopped before the open door of the bathroom where Andy had been killed. The stain of blood she almost slipped on was gone, but inside the bathroom the blood was still on the floor and on the walls.

Alice was knelt on the ground; she didn’t even notice her presence, she was too focus on cleaning the white tiles.

She was forcefully rubbing an old spatula against the once fair surface – her bare hands reddened by the ammonia in the soap.

Her white robe was stained in pink blood, her forehead was wet with sweat; a few strands of golden hair were stuck against her checks.

“Your stitches aren’t healed yet” Bedelia’s voice made the young woman gasp and jump – the bucket beside her dangerously wiggled, pouring red water on the floor.

“Jesus Bedelia!” she put a hand on her chest, breathing heavily, “You scared the shit out of me!” her eyes were widened, her pupils dilated. She was breathing through her mouth.

It was probably the alcohol and the lack of sleep, but she found the girl still knelt before her more appealing than usual.

“You should rest, you’re in no condition of doing your job now” she said, her words slurred. She rested against the doorframe, crossing her arms and relieving the prosthetic leg from her weight.

“Nobody else wanted to do the job” she explained, starting to rub the floor again, without speaking another word.

Shame that the only time Bedelia was in the mood of talking, Alice seemed too busy to bother.

“And you did?” she asked, “You wanted to do it?”

Alice scoffed, “Well, _want_ isn’t exactly the word that I’d use, but it was me or nobody, so…”

Bedelia entered the room carefully; she sat on the bathtub, placing the bottle on the floor and the cane next to it. “How do you feel?” she asked, sipping at her whiskey. The warmth in her chest was reassuring and comforting. “Being in a room where a murder had been committed, cleaning the blood of the victim, having it on your clothes… on your hands”.

Alice lifted her head, studying the woman in front of her in silence. She frowned, her green eyes half-closed. “Does this turn you on?” Bedelia’s lips twitched, she emptied her glass. “Dude, you’re a weirdo. And believe me… coming from me, that’s really something”.

The young woman gave up, she dropped the spatula into the bucket, splashing the water as it did so, and she sat against the bathtub, to Bedelia’s right. She reached for the bottle, this time without asking if she wanted to share and she took a long sip directly from it.

“I’m sorry for the girl,” Alice said looking up at the other woman, handing her the bottle. “But I can’t do anything for her… besides cleaning up the bloody mess”.

Bedelia filled her glass to the rim, a few drops of brown liquor spilled on Alice’s robe but she didn’t even notice – if she did, she didn’t complain. “You found her, didn't you?”

The woman nodded, shifting her head to her side, looking down at Alice.

The girl reached for Bedelia’s hand, pulling lightly. “Come down here, before you fall into the bathtub, I’m not picking up your pieces too”.

For a moment, Bedelia thought about standing up and leaving, but she realised she was too drunk to do it, so she slid over the rim of the tub. She acknowledge only too late that she was now sitting on wet floor covered in ammonia and blood. It was a problem for her sober self.

“Tell me,” Alice said with a smirk, “How did you find her? Did you slip over and crush your psychiatrists arse on the ground?”

There again, the British vein in her voice. Where was she from? Who was that girl. No – she was done with curiosity. Never again.

“I got up for a glass of water—”

“Sure thing” Bedelia stopped, being interrupted and she take advantage of that moment to take another sip from her glass. “Sorry, go on”.

“When I noticed the blood. I called my sister and she—” words were starting to fail her, “she woke everybody up”.

Bedelia closed her eyes for a brief moment and in the sudden dark she saw Andy’s body – on her back, her throat slit open, her big eyes widened in terror.

“You’re not scared?” Bedelia asked, her head heavy.

“No,” Alice answered, her voice a bit different, but the woman merely noticed, “are you?”

Perhaps Bedelia was hopelessly drunk, or perhaps she wasn’t and she faked to be to use the drunkenness as an excuse to be utterly honest, but she sighed heavily as she rested her head against the rim of the bathtub. “I’m terrified”.

“Let’s get you to bed, then. You can lock your door and sleep like a baby or you can hug your toilet and vomit your soul… whatever you prefer”.

In any other conditions, Bedelia wouldn’t have accepted her help, but she was drunk and she was missing a leg – so she put her arm around Alice’s shoulder and she followed the girl outside the bathroom, as she led her to her bedroom.

* * *

Andy’s body was placed on her working table. She was wearing her nightgown and it was completely soaked in blood.

Cordelia had already closed her brown eyes and her mouth. If it wasn’t for the deep gash in her throat, she could have been sleeping.

As she reached the body, Cordelia felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She placed a hand on Andy’s forehead – her skin was ice cold. “I’m so sorry,” she said, with a trembling voice, “but I promise I will find who did this to you”.

No murder weapon had been found in the bathroom, but it was obviously a sharp object – possibly a knife. She would have to ask the maids and the cook if something was missing from the kitchen.

Maybe she could have used the knife Andy had been killed with. She could have tried to enchant the blade and find out who the killer was.

As useless as it was, Cordelia put a white lily into Andy’s dark hair, then she lit a match and placed it inside a bowl where other lilies were left.

The flowers took to the fire and their smell mixed with their ashes filled the room.

Cordelia inhaled deeply the scent of burned lilies and she closed her eyes as she placed both hands on Andy’s face, cupping her cheeks.

She tried as hard as she could to concentrate and _see_ what she had seen, but it was a waste of time. She couldn’t feel anything.

With a resigned sigh, Cordelia turned her back to the body as she started to prepare another potion – this one to make sure the body wasn’t going to decompose in the following hours.

She filled a glass syringe with the dark liquid and she opened one of Andy’s eyes.

Her dead stare pierced Cordelia’s soul as she approached; she punctured the eye in the centre of the pupil, and she injected the whole potion inside her.

Someone entered without knocking and she jerked, turning to her visitor – it was Kyle that stood in front of the door, with a sad look on his face.

Cordelia smiled to him, “It’s okay. You can come in” she said and the boy nodded, entering the greenhouse and closing the door.

Kyle walked past Cordelia and Andy’s body, trying to avert  his eyes from the corpse. He reached for a shovel and then he turned to Cordelia.

“Not yet” she said with a small smile. “The sun is rising, we’re going to wait until the night falls again. We can’t afford the children or some neighbour to see her”.

There were still plenty of space where they dug Madison’s grave, Andy was going to rest in peace there.

* * *

Alice was climbing the stairs to the attic; her once white robe was now stained with blood that wasn’t her own.

Few images flashed before her eyes; blood, so much blood. Her own hands dripping, her face covered in it.

“Alice,” she heard a voice calling her, she turned her head frenetically – but she saw no one.

Intestines at her feet, a head ripped out some steps away.

“Alice…” that voice again. She rushed for her room, slamming the door close and resting her back against it. She locked it, before sliding against the hard wood, lifting her knees to her chest and hugging her legs.

Alice closed her eyes again; yellowish eyes pierced the darkness, they could see right through her.

“Alice!”

The girl gasped, a grip tightened her heart as she realised the voice wasn’t inside her head but inside her room.

No – no, it wasn’t possible. She was imagining things. She had hit her head, she had had a trauma. That was PTSD for sure. She shouldn’t have accepted cleaning the bathroom. All that blood, it was still on her – the smell, she needed to eliminate that smell from her body, her hair…

Alice stood up, undressing quickly. She entered the small bathroom and she turned the shower on.

The water was brown at the beginning but when it turned transparent, she stepped under the icy stream. With a rough sponge, she started to rub her whole body.

She looked down; the water turned pink at her feet.

Her memories went back. A voice was singing outside the bathroom – a male voice. He was singing happily about a whiting and a snail, while she was washing out someone else’s blood from her golden hair.

The young woman stepped out of the shower, no trace of blood on her body anymore. She wrapped a towel around her curves and her head. She stood before the hanging mirror on the wall. “It’s all in your head, Alice” she said aloud.

“You’re done in there Barbie?” a voice came from outside the door and she ignored it.

Her eyes widened and her heart raced. “It’s not happening. You’re having hallucinations again. You hit your head, you’re stressed”.

“Hey! Barbie! What are you? Dead?”

Alice sighed, there was no escape from her insanity – she should have known better.

She gave up, and she left the room. A doll was on her bed, “Finally!” it said.

This time she would have fought, though. “Hey there, Chucky” she greeted the doll with a sigh. “It’s never been a talking doll before, why the new look?”

The doll laughed. “It’s the easiest way” it answered in a sarcastic voice.

Alice sat on her bed, next to the doll. She didn’t dare to touch it.

A sudden fear hit her, and she felt like dying. She almost couldn’t speak. “Did you kill Andy?” she asked, because she needed to know. It was just a reflex.

The doll laughed again, this time lauder and in a mocking tone. “Don’t be an idiot, Barbie. How the fuck am I supposed to rip someone’s throat with these tiny porcelain arms? I should have been bigger, at least as much as you are to do it”.

Alice blinked a few times, repeating its words in her mind, then she froze. “If you didn’t kill her, then how did you know her throat was cut open?”

The doll stayed quiet for a while, then it jumped off the bed and it floated to the table. A small teacup started floating next to her. “I just guessed,” she said innocently, “maybe”.

It closed its eyes and her lifeless body dropped on its side, an instant later the teacup fell to the ground, shattering in tiny sharp pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will explain a few things, and it will hopefully bring Bedelia and Alice closer.  
> Let me know what you think about this story, it would mean the world to me!


	6. You didn't do it. Did you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting heated and Bedelia is a magnet for crazy people. But she loves it.

The clock struck twelve as Alice stood by the window in her room; the window was small and circular, but she could peek upon half of the garden from there.

Was she actually going crazy or was it just stress? She couldn’t tell.

It had happened before… she really couldn’t tell the difference anymore.

She tried to sleep the night before, after Andy was murdered, and when she fell asleep – she dreamt about the most horrible things.

She dreamt about a voice – _his_ voice.

Little Alice fell

d

 o

  w

    n

the h **O** le,

 **bumped** her head

and _bruised_ her soul

Those words, repeated on a loop – over and over. She had two options now: she could leave, or she could ask for help. But who was going to help her? She was beyond salvation already.

Her soul wasn’t bruised, her soul was crushed. She didn’t fall down the hole, she dug it herself. She didn’t bump her head – she smashed it to the ground, falling from a damn window.

The Council had questioned her that evening; asking her all kinds of stuff. From where she was when Andy had been killed to what she had found cleaning the bathroom after the body had been taken to the greenhouse.

The body…

Alice, standing before her window, could see only a white sheet placed on her corpse. Kyle was digging a hole in the garden and when he was done, Cordelia lifted a hand. Andy’s body started to float in the air before she was gently placed inside her grave.

After the grave was covered with fresh dirt, they stayed there, with their heads down for a while.

Kyle left first, followed by Zoe and Queenie – Cordelia waited there a little longer.

Alice went to bed, but she couldn’t sleep much. Her conscience wasn’t clean, she had to talk to someone.

The following morning, she woke up with an anxious feeling clenching her chest. She took a quick shower before putting her uniform on, and she braided her hair in two childish braids.

After breakfast she tried to do the dishes, but the stiches on her arm started to itch and when she scratched them, she started to bleed lightly. She went to the bathroom and she put a bandage around her forearm. Alice looked up from the sink and she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her big green eyes were tired, her once glowing skin was now a greyish unhealthy tone.

“You didn’t do it” she said to herself aloud. It was like looking at someone else’s reflection. “Did you?”

It was useless – she needed help.

She never trusted doctors, psychiatrists were the worst kind according to her. They _never_ managed to help her, only aggravate the situation.

But maybe Bedelia could have helped her… maybe she could have trusted _her_. No, no… just because she had a pretty face it didn’t mean she was different from the other doctors.

She was as stupid as they all were, she was as blind as they all were. They couldn’t understand, they had _never_ understood a thing about Alice. She was helpless, she was destined to become one of the voices inside her head.

“Just try” she said to the Alice in the mirror, “just try and see how it goes”.

Alice took a deep breath and she decided to leave the bathroom; there was a high possibility that Bedelia was still in her bedroom, so she approached her door and she knocked on the white wood. No one answered.

She tried again, with a bored snort. She told herself to give up and get medical advice for nothing.

Alice started playing with the end of one of her braids, swinging lazily on her feet.

When she realised something, she started to giggle; as she knocked again, she started to hum. “ _Do you wanna build a snowman?”_

She was probably singing to an empty room. It was either that or Bedelia was being really rude. Perhaps she was still asleep.

She kept humming, having fun doing it. “ _Or ride a bike around the hall?_ ” she stopped, looking puzzled for a second, “Nope, sorry that was a cheap shot”.

Alice heard a muffled sound coming from inside. Was it a laugh? “Come in,” she heard Bedelia’s voice and she smiled in delight.

What a brilliant way to start a conversation about your mental health with a drug addicted doctor – sing her Disney songs, she’ll take you under her care and possibly put you in a straitjacket. Gosh, those things were uncomfortable. 

The door was unlocked, as Alice stepped forward she let her eyes linger inside the room. She had been there before, when she walked Bedelia to bed the night of the murder and everything was pretty much the same.

Fancy clothes were carefully placed on a sofa next to the window. Bedelia was on her bed – her leg detached from her body and placed beside her.

She gestured the young woman to close the door behind her. “I—” Alice started, turning her back to the now closed door, “I wanted to ask you a favor”.

Bedelia pushed herself against the headboard with a low groan. “Please, make it quick” as she turned her head to something, Alice noticed the small suitcase that was placed on her bedside table; whatever drug Bedelia was addicted to, it was inside it – she presumed.

Without any shame, the woman tightened a tourniquet around her upper forearm as she started to prepare the syringe.

Really? She wanted to do it _now_?

“I need your help, you have to do your thing. You have to talk to me, you have to understand if I’m going crazy again or not” she spoke quickly, the urgency in her voice was clear.

Bedelia, on the other and, acted incredibly slow. She broke an ampoule containing a transparent liquid and she filled the syringe. “ _Again_?” Bedelia asked, without sounding so surprised. “You’re having hallucinations again?”

Alice nodded. “Yes, and they’re weird. Weirder than usual… please I need you to focus on me, I really do” the girl was pleading now, she didn’t even care.

Bedelia injected the liquid straight into her vein, sighing and closing her eyes when she extracted the syringe – she placed it in the suitcase and she rested her head against the headboard.

Alice stayed quiet for a while, she saw the lines in the woman’s face relaxing and a peaceful smile crept onto Bedelia’s lips.

There, she was gone. Useless, as any other psychiatrist she had met.

“What do you want from me?” Bedelia asked, her voice soft and gentle.

Alice shrugged, reaching the armchair in front of the bed and she climbed onto it, crossing her legs. “Help,” she said in a conceited voice. “I want you to open my head and rummage in my brain, and see if I belong to a madhouse or not” when Bedelia didn’t reply, Alice sighed. “Please?”

Bedelia took a deep breath, trying to keep her eyes open. “Fine,” she finally agreed, “tell me what you’re hallucinating about”.

“Okay,” it was very hard for Alice – being honest with a doctor, “I used to hear voices inside my head but they stopped long ago. And now they’re back and I’m seeing things”.

“What things?” Bedelia’s voice was incredibly slurred. Was she actually of any use in her condition?

Alice gulped, her mouth was dry. “I—” her heart was racing now, “I saw a doll, inside my room. It was… weird. I used to see things talking to me, puppets mostly. But this doll was unusual”.

Bedelia looked startled, confused even. She seemed like she was trying to recall something that her sedated mind couldn’t quite catch.

Alice started chewing her lower lip nervously, ignoring the woman in front of her – who was now rubbing her closed lids. “You’ve told me you’ve been under psychiatric care before” she said – so she was actually listening to her. “What was your doctors opinion about your situation?”

Alice scuffed, her memory went to the worthless man that she used to call ‘her doctor’. “He ruined my life. He was an incompetent, a slimy little man”.

“Yes, but what was his professional opinion?” Bedelia interrupted her, and Alice had to focus to remember.

“He said… I was projecting my fears and delusions into a… a figure that my mind had created” it was painful, talking about him. She stopped, she didn’t want to go on anymore.

“Why do you say he was incompetent?”

“Because all he wanted was to use me as his own little experiment” she spat out with anger, she felt a shiver run through her spine. “All of my doctors were like this. But he was the worst one. I told you it didn’t end well with him”.

“What happened?”  


“He died”.

“How?”

“Murdered”.

“By whom?”

“It’s… complicated”.

Alice needed a moment. She didn’t want to tell Bedelia all those things. No, no – she wanted to. That’s why she was there. She needed to talk to someone and Bedelia was the right person.

Now it was Bedelia who needed a moment to collaborate all the information, Alice remained quiet.

Silence was now pounding painfully into her ears. Maybe she had to go.

“Tell me how it started,” the woman had a tired voice, she was looking at Alice through half-closed eyes. Her hair was spread against the headboard like a halo, her breath was slightly quickened. Her chest, rising up and down rhythmically, was almost hypnotic. She was stunning. “From the beginning, and please, don’t lie to me”.

It took Alice a few minutes to recollect her thoughts and start a coherent speech. She lowered her head as she spoke. “I’ve been sick since I was a child. It got worst into my teenage years and young adulthood, and it got better a couple of years ago. I haven’t had hallucinations for almost a year now” she took a deep breath, she needed to talk about him now. “There was a particular hallucination, the one my doctor – Dr. Roberts – believed I used as a catalyst. I called him the Rabbit, because he usually talked to me using my rabbit puppet. It was my mother’s gift, my real mother – not the foster one. She was obsessed with Alice in Wonderland and she used to read it to me every night before bedtime. That’s why my name is Alice”.

Bedelia didn’t reply to her words and Alice kept her gaze low. Horrible memories filled her mind, she wanted them to go away.

“The Rabbit was good to me but he was bad with everybody else. He didn’t like _anybody_. And he used to tell me to do things…” Alice spoke in a soft voice, as she didn’t want to be heard by Bedelia.

Bedelia was starting to come back to her senses and even though she still looked quite high, she was now listening with more participation. “What kind of things?” she asked.

“Bad things” Alice replied quickly, her voice filled with shame.

“What kind of bad things?” Bedelia insisted, Alice could hear a faint trace of curiosity in her voice, maybe.

She smiled as she lifted her head, looking directly into the other woman’s blue eyes. She saw a strange light flashing behind the psychiatrist’s eyes. Her pupils dilated as Alice spoke again, her grin still in place. “Do I have to draw a picture?”

They stayed that way more than they should. Their eyes locked together, the silence speaking in their place.

After a long pause, Bedelia wetted her lips and averted her eyes, looking outside the window. “What was your doctor approach?”

“He gave me some pills, but sometimes I didn’t take them. We used to talk a lot” Alice answered, keeping her eyes on the other woman – now that she wasn’t looking, it was easier study her body without being noticed. Though she had half a mind Bedelia knew exactly what Alice was doing. “About the Rabbit, about my real parents and other stuff. But I lied to him all the time…”

Bedelia was wearing a short, silky nightgown with a creamy cardigan. She could see her stump leg now, she was missing almost the whole thing. It wasn’t the right time to ask her what had happened.

She looked so fragile, and yet Alice had the impression that Bedelia was way more stronger than she looked. It was in her voice, in her eyes. She had a feeling, a feeling she hadn’t explored yet. Alice could recognise a survivor – they all had the same look in their eyes.

Alice wasn’t sure what she herself was. A survivor or the executioner.

“Were your real parents,” Bedelia turned her eyes to Alice and she caught her staring, but the young woman didn’t care, and neither did the older one, “British?” she finished.

Was that even a relevant question? Alice was definitely surprised, but she nodded. “Yes, I was born in Daresbury. My parents died when I was six; I was adopted by an American couple when I was eight” she could read an unspoken question in Bedelia’s eyes. Alice smiled again, this time with a little trace of malice in her gesture. “If you’re wondering, I didn’t kill my parents. The Rabbit did”.

Bedelia’s eyes widened – she held her breath and she held her head up. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her eyesight; she shook her head lightly.

Was she afraid of her now? Alice was innocent. The Rabbit killed her parents; yes – he used her body, but she wasn’t the one who held the knife.

“Did you—” Bedelia stopped, she closed her eyes and for a brief moment she looked asleep, “kill your parents, Alice? When you were a little girl? Yes or No?”

“No!” Alice protested angrily, she saw a sudden shift in the woman in front of her and the girl softened her voice. “No,” she repeated, “I didn’t. It was the Rabbit. He told me to do it, but I didn’t want to and so he did. He was jealous because Mum was having another baby and he didn’t want me to be replaced. He was upset. All he wanted to do was to protect me…” her childish voice made her shiver. She stopped, and covered her mouth with both hands. She didn’t want to say all those things.

Alice was about to cry. She didn’t want to become her old self. She didn’t want the Rabbit to be mad at her.

“Look,” she started again, holding back the tears, “I know how it may sound. I know that it might sound crazy, and maybe it is… but I thought that the Rabbit was gone, and now there is a talking doll in my room and someone’s dead”.

Bedelia looked defeated, she never looked so tired. “Did you kill Andy last night?”

“No. Maybe. I don’t know” Alice sighed. “Sometimes I did things for the Rabbit and sometimes he did things for me. When he did those things, I usually had no memory of them… I don’t know if he killed Andy but—” the young woman shook her head and she stood up, “there were no reasons for me – or the Rabbit – to harm Andy and he never, _never_ , acted without a reason”.

She sensed Bedelia’s eyes following her as she walked nervously inside the room. She stopped by the window and she looked outside. It was a rainy day.

“Will they burn me at the stake if you tell Cordelia what I’ve told you?” Alice felt a grip in her stomach and suddenly she wanted to vomit.

“The stake is reserved only for the witches of the Coven” Bedelia said with a flat tone. “You’d probably end up in the ground next to Andy”.

“Please,” Alice begged, turning her back to the window – she was now standing in front of Bedelia as she looked down at her. Their eyes met once more. “Please, don’t tell her. It wasn’t me… it was the Rabbit!” she felt hot tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

Bedelia held her stare, her face was a mask that she couldn’t read.

She was about to speak when the door opened without a knock. It was Zoe, she didn’t even enter the room. “Quick,” she said in a rush, “Christina’s found a knife and clothes covered in blood in Kim’s room while cleaning up. We’re gathering in the Ancestry Room, there’s going to be a trial”.

Zoe left as quickly as she arrived and the two women were now left dumbfounded, completely shocked.

Alice had no idea what to say, she didn’t know how to feel.

Bedelia was the first one to speak. “Help me,” she said pointing at her leg, “please”.

Awakened by her state, the girl nodded and she reached for the prosthetic limb.

She kneeled before Bedelia as she tried to fix the strings that held the leg in place. After a moment it was obvious that Bedelia’s hands were useless; she couldn’t focus. Alice took her hands in her own and she placed them on her shoulders. Bedelia held onto her for balance as the girl did all the work.

Alice tried not to touch her skin too much, and not to think about the whole situation but it was hard as Bedelia’s skin was irradiating heat and she could smell the fragrance of her body soap.

When she was finished, Alice helped Bedelia to her feet and helped her put her white robe and shoes on.

“Thanks,” the woman said, as she reached for her cane and left the room in a rush.

Alice stood there on her own for a few seconds, she wanted to talk to her – she wanted to apologise and maybe she wanted to ask her to forget about the whole conversation, but Bedelia was already gone and she could already hear the voices of the girls from outside the door, so she left – closing the door and she followed the voices, until she saw the whispering crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be an intresting one... just wait and see. ;)


	7. Kim's fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting even more heated. Eh eh eh eh eh eh.

The entire Coven was attending the trial; Cordelia was wearing an elegant black dress for the occasion.

Kim was standing in front of the Council – her eyes wide open with fear. She didn’t seem able to speak a word.

The Supreme spotted her sister in the crowd; Alice – the maid – was standing next to her, the girl seemed nervous.

Zoe turned her head as she leaned into Cordelia. “I think we’re all here” she said and the woman nodded.

Her eyes met Queenie’s and the girl cleared her voice. “Kim Ford, you are here in the presence of your Supreme and Head of the Witches Council, because you have been found in possession of two items that could condemn you for Andy Bellefleur’s murder”.

Queenie’s voice sounded a bit stiff, as if she was reading from some notes.

“According to your interrogation, you spent the night that Andy had been killed in your room, alone. So no one could confirm or deny that,” Zoe continued as she reached for something under the desk, behind which the Council was gathered. She showed a white shirt covered in blood and a big knife, dirty as well. She picked the shirt first. “Is this yours?”

Kim fixed her eyes on it and she nodded, her bottom lip trembled.

“Speak up,” Cordelia said in a calm voice, “everybody must hear you”.

“Y-yes,” the girl whispered, then she cleared her voice, “yes, it’s mine, but—”.

Queenie interrupted her. “What about the knife?” her tone was way harsher than Cordelia’s.

“Never seen it before” Kim answered quickly. “I didn’t kill that girl. I’ve hardly spoke to her… she was a freak. I don’t know why there’s blood on my shirt and I don’t know why that knife was in my room! I didn’t do anything to her, I swear”.

“The Supreme will be the judge of that” Zoe turned her head to Cordelia and she nodded, then she handed her the shirt and the knife.

Cordelia had tried to see something through Andy’s eyes and she saw nothing – but now, with this new evidence and Kim’s presence, it was a whole different story.

“Take my hand,” she ordered and Kim did as she was told.

The girl’s hand was cold and sweaty, she could feel her heart beat furiously through her pulse.

The second Cordelia’s fingers touched both Kim and the shirt, she sensed a painful sensation inside her whole body; she became blind for a split second. The room disappeared into darkness, the noises faded into new voices and then she started to see again. This time through Kim’s eyes.

Her sight was a bit blurred, but she could see perfectly where she was going.

The corridor was empty, the lights were off.

She stopped before the bathroom door and she opened it without knocking.

Andy was inside, she was hiding in there – cowered into a corner, next to the toilet with her arms wrapped around her legs.

She leaned over the girl and she lifted her from where she was, before she pushed her aside, towards the sink.

She was now standing behind Andy, she could see her reflection in the mirror and her eyes met with Kim’s.

Her face was a mask of pure evil. She was smiling as she kept Andy firmly still, she said something into her ear but Cordelia couldn’t listen. Andy was now crying as Kim lifted her right arm and she revealed a big kitchen knife.

The silver blade shined before it ripped out Andy’s throat. Her body fell limp and Kim let her slip to the ground.

She looked down, Andy was still alive, clenching her wound with both hands.

Dark blood was gushing from the cut, Andy’s mouth was filled with it – she was choking in her own blood. She cried a few more tears before her eyes rolled inside her skull.

Kim left without looking back, she made sure her feet weren’t dirty, then she ran into her room and undressed quickly.

At that point Cordelia interrupted the connection between them and took a deep, painful breath.

Her eyes were shining, her chest was pounding.

The room was silent.

She looked up, Kim’s eyes were filled with dread and confusion. Cordelia’s voice was cold. “Kim Ford, you are here condemned to death for the murder of Andy Bellefleur. You will be burned at the stake tomorrow morning at dawn”.

Cordelia had to put a hand on her stomach, trying not to feel sick after what she saw.

She lifted her head again, ignoring all the voices that were now filling the room. “Take her to her chamber and make sure she doesn’t leave”.

Her head was about to explode – she saw three men clothed in black suits and shades walking fast towards Kim. They had to carry her away while she was screaming, Cordelia didn’t bother to listen to her lies. She _saw_ what had happened – no other witch in the Coven was powerful enough to alter her visions now.

* * *

Bedelia stayed in the room even when everyone else had left.

She saw her sister standing before their mother’s portrait and she didn’t dare to disturb her.

Cordelia looked extremely tired; Bedelia wasn’t surprised. The conversation with Alice kept repeating itself inside her mind. There was something incredibly _wrong_ with that girl and Bedelia was intrigued.

Any normal person would sense the strange vibe that floated around that girl, and kept their distance… but apparently Bedelia wasn’t normal and she cursed herself for being ridiculously attracted by insanity. She barely survived the last time – she had no idea what she was doing or what she was getting herself into.

When she realised her sister was looking at her, Bedelia joined her in front of the painting.

They stayed quiet, admiring the piece of art before them. She had to admit the portrait was good. Too good, too accurate.

Her mother was a beautiful woman, with a rotten soul – if she had one.

Fiona’s eyes were looking at her, her smile seemed more alive than ever. She never loved her, not even when she was a child.

The only person that cared about her in her childhood was Myrtle – and now she was gone too. She taught her the few things that she knew about magic and she passed onto her, her love for fashion.

“She died in my arms, she asked me to kill her” her sister’s voice distracted her from her memories.

Bedelia didn’t look at her, she knew her mother had suffered during her last days… but not enough according to her. “And did you kill her?”

“No,” she answered, her voice weak. “She had to embrace her mortality… I couldn’t do it. You wouldn’t have done it either.”

“Yes,” she said without thinking about it twice, “I would have done it. I would have given my other leg to kill her myself”.

She left her sister alone, Bedelia didn’t want to look at her. She didn’t want to think about her mother, she didn’t want to think about anything.

As she was about to enter her room, she heard Alice’s voice calling for her. She had half a mind to ignore the girl, but then she remembered their conversation and she decided to give the girl another couple of minutes.

Bedelia thought that she wanted to talk about the trial, but she was wrong. “Hey, about what I’ve said before…” she started and she looked embarrassed. “Can we pretend it never happened?”

As Alice lowered her eyes, Bedelia examined her body language. The girl was looking at her feet, nervously twisting her fingers in her lap. She could hear her breath was quickening. It was amusing – studying her.

“We could,” she finally answered without expression in her voice, “or…” she added and that made the girl jolt. She looked up, meeting her gaze – her green eyes sparkled with confusion and anticipation. “I could try to help you”.

Bedelia knew it was a bad decision, it was suicide, but she couldn’t help it. She was attracted by madness like a moth is attracted to the light.

A different brightness sparkled in the girl’s eyes – hope, maybe. “You want to help me?”

Her conversation with Will Graham came back to her mind.

 _The next time you have an instinct to help someone, you might consider crushing them instead. It might save you a great deal of trouble_.

Alice was now the wounded bird, and she might have wanted to follow her own advice.

The girl was having hallucinations, she wasn’t responsible for Andy’s death – but she was responsible for other’s. She might be dangerous…

“Meet me in my room, after dinner. I believe it’s going to take some time to figure out what is happening to you”.

Bedelia turned her back to Alice, she didn’t want to change her mind.

She locked herself in her room, the haze of her sedative completely faded.

What had she done? She was a fool… and she deserved whatever the fate had decided to reserve for her. She hated herself as much as she hated her mother.

She climbed into her bed and she leaned over its rim, reaching under it. She lifted her suitcase and she opened it without a second thought.

Bedelia injected another dose of her drug into her vein, feeling overpowered by the sensations; then she lied on her bed, closing her eyes and drifting into a troubled sleep.

She slept throughout the whole day. She didn’t go to lunch or dinner. She didn’t answer her door when Alice came that night.

Her nightmares taunted her until she woke up covered in sweat; she didn’t know what time it was and she didn’t care to know it – but it was dark outside the window.

Her nerves were shattered; she bit into her pillow as hot tears left the corners of her closed eyes.

She dreamt about Hannibal, and for a moment – for a brief moment – she didn’t know if she was still dreaming or not. She didn’t know if she was safe, then she realised that she would never be safe again, maybe she never was.

What was left of her leg tickled at the memory of Dr. Hannibal Lecter; her whole body reacted to the images of her nightmare and she was now retching.

Her heart started beating furiously inside her rib cage – she was sure it was going to explode. She tried to reach for the bedside lamp, but she couldn’t move.

She felt a painful sting in her chest and she realised she couldn’t breathe.

She was dying.

Bedelia opened her mouth as she tried to scream for help, but not a sound left her lips; once again she tried to move and once again she couldn’t.

Was He in the room with her? Did he find her? How? No, it was impossible.

She clenched her chest, every breath caused her more pain.

She had to think straight.

She wasn’t dying. Nobody was in the room with her.

It was a panic attack, she was supposed to know how to deal with those.

Once she realised that, Bedelia started to breath slowly through her nose.

She waited a few minutes, then she tried to get up and she leaned against the headboard. She turned the lights on and she filled a glass with fresh water.

She didn’t want to fall asleep again, so she started reading, sipping at the water until she heard her sister calling for her, knocking at the door – at 4:00 AM.

Bedelia didn’t want to go to the execution, but she was the Supreme’s sister – and Cordelia asked her to attend.

She offered her help when she noticed that Bedelia was struggling to fix her leg, but Bedelia refused – taking her own time doing it.

Once she was dressed with a little black dress, she joined the rest of the Coven outside the house.

It was a cold morning, the sun wasn’t up yet. She hugged herself, trying to preserve the heat of her body.

Seven limousines drove them to the place where the execution was to take place – it wasn’t the first execution she attended.

As the men clothed in black tied Kim to the stake, Cordelia asked the girl if she had any final words.

Kim was crying, the wind was blowing – causing her hair to go into her eyes and mouth.

All the girls were wearing black clothes, some of them were crying too – her friends, she supposed.

“Please,” she screamed between sobs, “please, I didn’t do it!”

Cordelia was standing in front of her, before the whole coven – Bedelia was right behind her. She felt nothing, watching that scene. She felt hollow – as if she was having an out of body experience.

The place was so beautiful – a peaceful hill covered with green grass.

The pointy white rocks that covered the ground were absolutely impossible for her to walk on – some girls had to help her.

When Cordelia set the stake ablaze, Kim started screaming even louder.

The Supreme’s face remained stoic, she looked almost regal – like a statue, her features hard and emotionless.

Some of the witches left, some others stayed and watched.

Kim screams filled the air as dark thick smoke rose in the white sky.

The air was getting warmer as the heat from the fire caressed her body, giving her gooseflesh.

The smell of burning wood was now mixing with another smell – a smell she knew too well: burning human flesh.

She wasn’t sure she could actually able to do it, but her ears went past the screaming and they heard the crackle sound of Kim’s skin.

Bedelia averted her eyes, but it wasn’t enough. That smell was engulfing her, sticking on every inch of her body.

She started to choke, she had to go away.

Images of the nightmare of the night before flashed before her eyes like photographs.

Kim’s screams stopped, but the smell was still strong in the air, maybe even stronger.

Bedelia started to stumble, trying not to fall – leaning on her cane.

She had barley reached one of the limousine when she had to bend over and throw up.

The bitter taste of bile in her mouth was disgusting. One of the men that tied Kim to the stake approached her, asking if she needed help – but she lifted a gloved hand and opened the car door.

She closed the door immediately, finding the little vodka bottle inside the mini-bar and she drank the whole thing, trying to get rid of the taste of the vomit.

Few minutes later, she heard the steps of the girls coming back. She didn’t want to see or talk to her sister.

With a deep sigh, Bedelia placed her hand at the base of her thigh – where she could still feel the touch. She had to cope with the fact that that was her life now.

She would have done better to get used to it.


	8. Getting closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice confronts the other maids and Bedelia isn't doing so good after her rough night.

_“Will you walk a little faster?”_

_Said a whiting to a snail,_

_“There’s a porpoise close behind us,_

_And he’s treading on my tail”._

He was singing with his beautiful voice, in the common room of the asylum.

It was usually full of people, now it was empty – it was late at night, the chairs and tables had been pushed aside, against the walls.

A little white rabbit was resting on a red armchair, placed in the centre of the room. His little paws were nervously pushing his ears down, so that he could clean them.

_“See how eagerly the lobsters_

_And the turtles all advance!_

_They are waiting on the shingle,_

_Will you come and join the dance?”_

Where was the music coming from? She had no idea, but it was so beautiful – so perfect.

He was dancing, spinning around – holding his hat so that it didn’t fly away.

_“Will you, won’t you, will you,_

_Won’t you, will you join the dance?_

_Will you, won’t you, will you,_

_Won’t you, won't you join the dance?”_

The man stopped right in front of her as he removed his top hat, leaning forward in an elegant bow.

Alice laughed when he reached for her, his piercing yellow eyes touching her soul. “Hop, hop, my sweet Alice,” he insisted “let’s dance” and she took his hand.

In a minute he was singing again, as they spun together in the empty room.

_“You can really have notion_

_How delightful it will be_

_When they take us up and throw us,_

_With the lobsters, out to sea!”_

Alice started to laugh, she loved dancing and his partner was such a great dancer. The man was now lifting her, her little dress – white and light blue – fluttered in the air, as she giggled even more, her head was spinning too.

“Oh, Hatter!” she exclaimed in her childish voice, between laughs. “You’re too fast, I’m going to feel sick!”

The Hatter laughed along with her, but he didn’t stop. “Nonsense, dear Alice” he said, putting her down, stretching his arm and she did the same – his strong grip still held her wrist.

_“But the snail replied, ‘Too far, too far!’_

_And gave a look askance,_

_Said he thanked the whiting kindly,_

_But he would not join the dance”_

Other figures joined them in their dance, in the asylum – she knew them. The nurses, dressed with silly clothes, were now dancing with them.

There was Rachel, her personal nurse, with a funny hare costume. She was dancing with a blue caterpillar – Alice didn’t know who he was because he was wearing a mask. They all were wearing masks, except for Rachel.

The song stopped abruptly; the Hatter was holding her hand, they were walking towards a beautiful, long table. It was already set for their tea party!

Another song was now playing, she knew that too. It was a song her mother used to sing to her – her real mother, not the fake one.

It was about the Boogieman and how to fool him if he’d ever come to get you.

All the Wonderland people were now sitting with them. Her mother – the real one – was at one end of the table, the Hatter was at the other one.

She was so beautiful. Her long blonde hair was shining in the dark, her big blue eyes sparkled with joy as she announced her pregnancy.

“You, selfish human!” it was the Rabbit talking, her Rabbit. He was at the table with them, right next to her. He hopped on the hard wood – some teacups fell to the ground, he took a knife and he pointed it at her mother. “How _dare_ you do this to us?” he was so mad. “We don’t want another baby! You can’t replace us!”

“Rabbit!” Alice stood up, “Rabbit, please don’t. Mum’s always been nice to us”.

“She wants to replace us, Alice!” he spat, his little black eyes were furious. “She wants to replace us. They both want to replace us!”

Her parents were in front of her, scared and wounded.

Her mother had her throat cut open, her father had several stabbing wounds across his chest.

She looked down, she had a big knife in her hands. She was dripping with blood, and it wasn’t hers.

“What have you done?” another voice came from behind – when she turned around, she saw Dr. Roberts with wide eyes, looking at her parents.

“I didn’t do it!” she screamed, “I didn’t do it! It was the Rabbit!” Alice was crying now. She threw the knife away, clenching her head with both hands. “Hatter… Hatter, please…” she called for him with a weak voice, between sobs.

There was her Hatter, he lifted Dr. Roberts with just one hand and he punched him with the other.

Dr. Roberts was now at his feet, bleeding and whining. He crushed his face under his foot.

The doctor’s teeth jumped out of his mouth – Alice picked them up and she put them into her front pocket.

Then someone grabbed her from behind, it was her fake father – she jerked away as the Hatter pushed him out of a window, saving her.

“Let’s go now, my dear Alice. We cannot stay here any longer!” he turned to her, lifted her on his shoulder and he carried her away.

The songs were playing again – this time all together and the result was a creepy and confused melody.

A lot of bodies laid before her. Men, women, children. They were all dead, their faces disfigured, their bodies mutilated.

Both the Hatter and Alice were covered in their blood, but they were happy, they were smiling. They had so much fun – until one by one the bodies started to rise again, reaching for her, screaming at her.

They grabbed her and they were hurting her and the Hatter tried to help her, but they attacked him too and there was nothing she could do. She cried for help, she screamed the Rabbit’s name, but he never came.

Alice woke up screaming; it took her a few minutes to realise it was just another dream.

She felt a sticky sensation and she noticed she had wetted the bed. With a wave of shame, she got up and cleaned the mess.

It was already morning and she was late for breakfast. After a quick shower, Alice got dressed in a rush and she didn’t do anything with her hair.

She couldn’t remember much about the nightmare she had, but she still felt uncomfortable and a bit shaken.

The other three maids were having breakfast at the white round table, in the kitchen. They weren’t alone – one of the witches, she didn’t recall her name, was looking for something inside the fridge.

The three girls turned their heads towards Alice at the same time when she entered the room. God, they looked like a Cerberus.

“Good morning,” Christina smiled at her as Alice sat beside her. “Did you sleep well?” she sounded a bit concerned.

When Alice realised that also Karen and Samantha were looking at her with a frown on their faces, she forced a smile. “Not quite, actually” she admitted, filling a cup with hot tea – she despised coffee, it was too bitter.

“Looks like you’ve seen a ghost” Samantha joked as she took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. She offered one to the girls, Karen and Alice accepted.

Before she could light her cigarette, it did it by itself. Not just hers, but Karen’s and Samantha’s too.

“You’re welcome,” the witch smiled at them, leaving the kitchen.

Alice didn’t blink, but Karen seemed upset. “Gosh, I hate them all!” she said with a shiver.

“Then why do you work here?” Alice asked without too much discretion.

Karen shifted in her seat, looking at her cup of coffee. “It was here or the street, so…”

“I don’t think any of us had much of a choice” Christina shared a look with Alice, she shrugged. “Personally, I wouldn’t be here if I had the chance”.

“I’m running away from my psycho ex-boyfriend” Samantha confessed with the cigarette between her lips. “I figured out he wouldn’t come near a house full of witches”.

“I needed a job and a place to stay,” Christina nodded at Samantha, “I mean, the job’s good and the house is amazing”.

“Yeah they killed a girl few days ago here, but I guess it’s part of the deal, right?” Alice’s sarcasm wasn’t much appreciated by the other girls.

“Why are _you_ here then?” Karen finally asked, “You just wanted to see the witches?”

“Yep,” Alice lied, “I was curious about them”.

A child entered the kitchen and she ran to the counter, she tried to reach up for a bowl but she couldn’t.

“Wait sweetie, I’ll help you” Christina said, as she stood up.

The little girl turned her head to her with a smile. “It’s okay, I have it” she said and she moved her index finger towards the bowl. It started to float right into the kid’s arms. Then she left waving goodbye to them.

“Imagine how easy it would be cleaning up with that superpower” Karen sighed, blowing the smoke from her mouth.

Samantha laughed. “Yeah, like Mary Poppins”.

“Mary who?” Alice asked, confused and three pair of eyes were now set on her again. Did she say something wrong?

“Mary Poppins, the old Disney movie? The Supercalifragilisti-shit. No? _Really_?” Christina seemed shocked.

It was that bad she had never heard about it? She was starting to get into ‘normal’ stuff just lately and she still had a lot to catch up with.

“What kind of childhood have you had?” Karen joked, sipping at her coffee.

Alice smiled uncomfortably, mimicking her. “My mother was… peculiar” she simply said.

“She didn’t let you watch the TV?” Christina asked with a frown.

Alice shook her head, still hiding her nose inside the cup. “She loved reading to me” she finally put the cup down and she took a deep breath, trying to recollect the memories. “She- she was good, but… a bit weird”.

“Now everything is clear” Samantha laughed lowering her gaze, with a smirk on her lips.

Alice didn’t notice it. “She used to dress me like a doll. I was so tiny and I had this beautiful golden bobbed hair, and enormous green eyes. I _did_ look like a doll”.

“So that’s why you’re not scared of sleeping in the attic?” Karen asked, with actual interest in her eyes.

The young woman nodded with a small smile. “While the other kids were doing their stuff at school, my mother was teaching me the Jabberwocky”.

“Jabber-what?” Karen scuffed, amused.

“The Jabberwocky,” Alice repeated. “It’s a beautiful poem. You’ve never heard of it?”

The girls shook their heads.

Weird, she thought…

_“‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves_

_Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:_

_All mimsy were the borogoves,_

_And the mome raths outgrabe._

_‘Beware the Jabberwock, my son!_

_The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!_

_Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun_

_The frumious Bandersnatch!’”_

Alice proudly declaimed the first two stanzas, with tinkering eyes – God, it was a lifetime she hadn’t thought about that poem and she still could remember it by heart.

“Jub- _what_? Bander… what kind of poem is that?” Christina laughed out loud, she didn’t intend to be mean, just amused by the weird poem. “What does it even mean?”

“Nothing!” Alice’s eyes sparkled again. “The Jabberwock is a monster. It looks like a dragon with claws and big eyes – when I was a kid I imagined myself slaughtering it with my vorpal sword!”

“You pictured yourself slaughtering a dragon when you were a child?” Samantha asked in a sharp tone – and when Alice nodded, her eyebrows disappeared into the line of her head; she averted her eyes.

“Well, it wasn’t technically a dragon, but—” Alice didn’t know how to explain to them what _exactly_ a Jabberwock was, so she didn’t. They wouldn’t have understood anyways.

After a few moments, Christina lowered her voice and she took a suspicious look around – as if walls had ears. “Are we going to ignore the fact that yesterday a girl has been roasted?”

“I thought that was the idea…” Karen replied, sounding detached.

Alice inhaled deeply, emptying her cup. She couldn’t go to the execution because she wasn’t part of the Coven – she didn’t know if she would have wanted to anyway. “I’ve heard it was horrible”.

“You could bet your ass it was!” Samantha almost yelled, then she lowered her voice and she leaned forward, the other did the same instinctively. “They burned her _alive_ , for fuck’s sake! She was twenty-one!”

“She killed Andy…” Alice pointed out.

“Yeah but…” Samantha continued, “they should have called the police or something. That trial was a joke”.

“You think it was fake?” Karen asked her, with wide eyes.

Samantha shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, nobody saw what Cordelia saw… _if_ she saw something…”

“She did!” Alice said without thinking. “She’s the Supreme!”

“How can you be so sure?” Christina asked, and Alice didn’t answer. “I mean, I like Cordelia. She’s nice… she really is, but how can we be sure she saw what she said she did?”

“Why would she lie?” now it was Alice’s time to ask questions.

“I don’t know…” Christina replied. “I’m not saying she did… I’m just saying that the whole trial was very quick and the execution was even quicker…”

“Maybe that’s the way witches do it…” Alice felt personally touched by those accusations, she didn’t even know why.

“If it is, it’s a shitty system. Even worse than ours” Samantha’s voice was very harsh, and nobody replied.

“I’ve heard some of the girls felt sick during the execution,” Christina said after another pause – they should have been working by now, but the conversation was starting to get interesting. “Even Cordelia’s sister felt sick”.

 _That_ drew Alice’s attention. “Really?” she asked and the girls seemed surprised by her reaction. “What?”

“Nothing…” Christina said vaguely.

“Nothing,” Samantha repeated with a sly smile, “it’s just you’re always up her ass – we thought you knew”.

Alice felt her cheeks burn, but she acted normally. “I didn’t” she simply said. “She felt sick during the execution?” she asked again.

Christina nodded. “That’s what I’ve heard… I haven’t seen her since yesterday. I’ve heard she locked herself in her room the whole day”.

Alice could confirm that, but she didn’t. She was still upset by the fact that Bedelia didn’t answer the door when she knocked. They were supposed to meet after dinner. She was actually nervous about the meeting, she didn’t like the idea of being psychoanalyzed again – but she liked the idea of Bedelia helping her. It was confusing.

“You know what happened to her leg?” this time was Karen asking, and Alice shook her head. “Come on… we won’t tell anybody”.

“I don’t know!” Alice raised her voice, with a tinge of anger. She didn’t like talking about Bedelia, for some reason she couldn’t quite understand. “I asked, she didn’t tell me” she added.

“Is she a witch?” Christina asked her and again – three set of eyes were on her. _Again_.

What was the fuss about Bedelia now? Weren’t they talking about Kim being roasted? “I don’t know” Alice replied. _But was she?_

“How come you don’t know anything about her?” Samantha’s smile was extremely infuriating. “I mean, you two seem to have hookd up quite a lot”.

“She wants to know stuff about me” Alice replied again, this time feeling very uncomfortable. She hated the way this conversation was going. “Can we talk about something else, please?”

The girls seemed quite upset about changing the subject of the conversation, but they agreed and Karen looked at the watch on her left wrist – they were very late, but none of them cared. “I think there’s going to be a party soon” she said.

“A party?” Alice asked, puzzled.

“Mh-mh, yes” she confirmed. “I don’t know why, exactly – but I’ve heard Cordelia saying something about it. I think it’s about Kim and Andy”.

“Some kind of funeral party?” Samantha asked.

Alice didn’t know what a funeral party was, but she didn’t say a word.

Samantha nodded, “Probably. I don’t know but I’ve heard there are going to be a lot of people”.

Christina was about to say something but Cordelia’s voice made them all jolt on their feet. “What are you girls doing here? Shouldn’t you been at work now?”

Lowering their heads and muttering apologies, the maids left the kitchen and went their separate ways, without looking back.

Alice had already cleaned up two rooms – she tried to enter Kim’s but the door was locked – when she went downstairs for a glass of water.

She met Bedelia in the kitchen; the woman was drinking wine – Alice almost didn’t notice by now. She took a crystal glass and filled it with fresh water.

The two didn’t exchange looks. It was like they didn’t even acknowledge each other’s presence. Were they having a fight or something?

Alice emptied her glass, feeling uncomfortable. They were in the same room and Bedelia didn’t even say hi when she saw her.

Alice decided that it wasn’t the time to be shy – she never was. “Why aren’t you talking to me?”

Maybe she was drunk or high. Or maybe she was drunk _and_ high.

Bedelia moved her eyes slowly from her glass to the young woman and she blinked. “Good morning” she said.

Her voice was hoarse, her eyes were hollow. She had a rough night for sure.

“Are you okay?” Alice asked, concerned. “I’ve heard you were sick yesterday”.

Bedelia didn’t reply immediately, she sipped at her wine. “I was” she confirmed, finally.

Alice lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said “is that the reason why you didn’t answer the door when I knocked?” she noticed Bedelia was shaking like a leaf. She really looked in a bad shape.

“Yes,” Bedelia said, she put her glass on the counter and turned her back to it – leaning against it to relieve her leg from her weight, “I’m sorry about that”.

“It’s okay” Alice said with a small smile. “You still want to help me, right?”

“Yes,” she said again.

There was something Alice needed to ask her, before their… she didn’t know how to call it, professional meetings? – began. “Is it too much for me to ask that you don’t get yourself high or drunk when we do this thing?”

“It is,” Bedelia left the counter, limping towards the door, “but I won’t”.

She stopped by the door, but she didn’t turn around – she looked like she was pondering about something in silence.

For a moment, Alice feared that she was going to change her mind about their meetings.

She didn’t seem able to walk by herself – even if she didn’t sound drunk or look it. After a moment, she confirmed Alice’s thoughts. “Come now, help me climb the stairs – I need to talk to my sister” she half asked, half ordered – still giving her back to the girl, her voice indecipherable.

With a smile, Alice joined Bedelia’s side and she put a hand around her waist as the woman used her as a second walking stick.

Alice knew her enough by now to know that Bedelia wasn’t the kind of person that asked for help if it wasn’t extremely necessary – so she was very glad that Bedelia had decided to ask _her_ for help, instead of someone else.

As they were climbing the first steps – Alice, took her chance to ask her another question, in a casual tone. “Hey, are you a witch?”

Bedelia sighed tiredly. “Don’t make me regret my decision, please”.


	9. We're all mad here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice is tired of hearing voices, she goes to Bedelia for help and she finds out something very important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important: I am not a doctor and I don't really know how mental illnesses work. I have done some research, but please take what's in this chapter - and in the following ones - only as amateur literature.

Alice Carmichael was a lonely girl. She used to have imaginary friends when she was a little girl and some of them grew up with her.

She hadn’t seen them in a while – and yet, she heard a voice calling for her while she was laying still in bed, on a Sunday morning.

“Alice,” a tiny voice called. It was nervous and eager – “Alice, for God’s sake! Alice!” the squeaky voice screamed.

Alice was trying so hard to ignore it but when she heard another – deeper – voice calling, she lifted her head from the pillow. “Alice, wake up”.

 _What?_ – she used to talk to them telepathically, it seemed to work.

“Alice,” the squeaky voice called her again. This time she saw it – him – and she gasped.

 _Mr. Mouse!_ – she thought – it was a lifetime she hadn’t seen or talked to him.

“Hello, Alice!” the little grey mouse was right next to her head. “I need to talk to you,”

“Yes, Alice” the other voice said and she turned her head towards the source of the noise – finding out that a great old turtle – which wasn’t an actual turtle – was sitting on her table. “Listen to Mr. M… it’s very important”.

_What? What is it? Why are you here?_

“We wanted to warn you,” squeaked the Mouse.

“We must warn you,” the Mocking Turtle yawned, “because you’re in danger”.

_Danger? What danger?_

“There is a Jabberwock” – a third voice, harsher and quite angry. She knew that one.

_Hare! What are you doing here?_

“I am warning you of course! Like the others” the Hare was always angry and mad – he didn’t like anything, not even himself. He hopped on her bed and pulled at his long ears.

_Stop that, Hare. What are you all talking about? What Jabberwock? Where is my Rabbit?_

The Mouse started to squeak louder, he was crying – “No, no!” he yelled. “He’s not here – he doesn’t want to come. He’s not here!”

_Why is he mad at me?_

“He’s not mad at you, Alice” the deep voice of the Mocking Turtle comforted her, she smiled at him.

“The Jabberwock!” screamed the Mouse.

“Oh, yes!” the Hare hopped off the bed and onto the table with a single jump. “Yes! The Jabberwock!” he kicked off some teacups. “There is a Jabberwock here and she wants to rip off your head!”

_And what should I do?_

“It’s simple, Alice” the Mocking Turtle said with a serious tone. “You have to slaughter her before she slaughters you”.

_I don’t understand, what- where were you? I—_

A knock on her door made her jump, she sat on her bed with a pounding headache – was it a dream? It seemed so real…

“Alice?” this time it wasn’t in her head – it was Cordelia’s voice who called her.

“Yes?” she half-yelled, half-answered.

“My sister wants to see you, she’s waiting for you in her room”.

“I’m coming down in a minute!” she said, getting up – trying to collect her thoughts. She was paler than usual, she noticed – her forehead was damp with cold sweat.

What a perfect time for a psychiatric session.

* * *

Bedelia was waiting in her room as usual – the meetings had become less frequent, but more intense.

The girl was starting to open up to her, it had been ten days since their first session, and she still hadn’t a good picture of Alice.

One moment she seemed very open to speak her mind, the other she didn’t want to say a word.

Bedelia was starting to see a pattern there, but she needed to be more sure about it. It was not so likely that her previous doctors did such a poor job with her, but she couldn’t get her hands on her medical records, so she had to stick to what Alice told her about her experiences.

When the girl arrived, she didn’t like the state she was – she was usually happy and smiley, at least at the beginning of the session.

Now Alice was wearing a mask of fake calm, the worst kind of mask in her opinion.

“What’s happened?” She asked, even before the young woman could reach her usual armchair.

Alice let herself fall into it, leaning forward and resting her head on her knees. Her arms were limp along her legs, her fingers brushing the ground. “I’m going crazy” she whined, then she lifted her head and sighed as a child would have done. “I’m seeing talking animals again” her pouty face was almost comical.

Hallucinations were a common subject during their meetings, she knew quite a lot about her childhood by now – and her teenage years.

What she was most sceptical to talk about, were her young adulthood years – the years before her current life.

“What did you see this time?” Bedelia asked calmly.

Alice shifted in her seat, crossing her legs and looking outside the window – Bedelia didn’t know if the girl was aware of the fact that every time she averted her eyes, it was when she was actually about to take the conversation seriously.

It usually happened mid-session, not at the very beginning of it.

“I didn’t just _see_ something. I heard something. I thought they were voices inside my head, but I saw them and they talked to me and…” Alice sighed again, this time without her mask and she looked so tired. “I saw a mouse and a turtle – which wasn’t actually a turtle – and I saw a hare, and God – he was as hysterical as ever” she stopped, a nervous laughter filled the room. The young woman covered her face with both hands, before she shook her head. “I can’t believe they’re back. They’re all back – except for the Rabbit…”

“You’re under a considerable amount of stress and you’re childhood obsessions are pushing back to remerge from the closet you once locked them in” Bedelia explained, but Alice shook her head again, when she put her hands down, her face was another mask – this time of anger.

“No! No… I’m not—” she breathed heavily, then her features softened, “I’m not going back to ground zero. I’m not going to turn into some kind of psychopath…”

“This is not what I am saying, Alice” Bedelia tried to assure her, she didn’t want to upset her in such a delicate moment. It was tricky – she might have triggered some mechanism her psyche was trying to stop by trying to help her in some other way.

“It’s his fault,” Alice said – lowering her voice, Bedelia inhaled slowly.

“The Rabbit’s?” she asked.

“The Hatter!” Alice voice was now almost a whisper. She closed her eyes. “If he just—” she stopped, taking a deep breath. She bit her lip before trying to go on. “If he would have just left me alone… I would probably still be in that mental hospital, tied up to a bed with my stupid pills and my dumb doctor. But _no_!” she laughed hysterically once again. “No, he had to find me. He had to _choose_ me!”

The figure of the Hatter was extremely ambiguous; he was both a father and a friend to Alice. Sometimes she was mad at him, other times she missed him deeply – but most of the time she just didn’t want to talk about him.

“Do you think that he is the cause of you being who you are now?”

“I killed my fair amount of poor souls before the Hatter, but I had never killed without a reason before him” Alice spat angrily – her words were quick and sharp.

The _I_ didn’t escape from Bedelia’s attention. She usually gave the merit for the killing to the Rabbit, not to herself.

She wasn’t sure if Alice was ready to face the reality – or at least what she thought the reality was – but they were running out of time. The girl was convinced that she was going crazy again, and if she wasn’t she might have gone crazy – if she believed so.

“You haven’t answered my question, Alice” she insisted, wanting to prove her point.

Alice scuffed, grinning a little. “He was definitely the reason why I left…”

“Can you tell me how it happened? When did you decide to leave the Hatter?”

“When I realized he was murdering people with me. I mean we were having fun and I loved it, but then I… I just _knew_ it wasn’t right. And I have found the courage and… and the right state of mind to leave”.

Bedelia nodded, putting that information in the back of her mind. She pursed her lips, resting her hands on her knees. A bird landed outside the window and Alice’s eyes moved to it in an instant. Bedelia didn’t even blink. “Look at me Alice,” she demanded, “tell me about the Rabbit now. When did _he_ leave you?”

“I—” she stopped, turning her head back to Bedelia, her eyes flashed. “He never really left me, I guess… he was just mad at me”.

“Why?”  


“Because she choose him over me!”

“ _She_?”

“I mean I—” she repeated, with a sly smile. “I choose the Hatter over the Rabbit. He never liked the Hatter. He hated him”.

“Why did he hate the Hatter?” Bedelia asked, looking straight into the young woman’s eyes. She was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable, so she shifted in her seat – lifting the right leg over the left one, so that she could cross them.

“Because,” Alice started – her grin always on her lips, “he was dangerous and… I—” she stopped again, squeezing her eyes a bit, “I know the Rabbit was trying to protect me. He didn’t want to hurt anybody” she said.

“Can we drop the act?” Bedelia asked with a soft tone in her voice.

Alice looked startled for a moment and she fell silent. When she spoke again, she tried to sound as convincing as she could. “What?”

“Stop pretending you’re someone else. You’re not Alice,” Bedelia said calmly. She inhaled deeply as she lifted herself from the armchair she was sit on and she leaned forward, interlacing the fingers of her hands on her right knee. “I would like to know who I am talking to”.

After a brief moment, Alice’s head fell slightly to one side. Bedelia felt her eyes scanning her skull. “You’re the first one who has ever noticed that,” she simply replied with a surprised – yet pleased – tone. “Come on, you can do it. She really likes you, you know? She really believes you can help her. It’s a first – you should be proud”.

“You’re the Rabbit” it wasn’t a question – it was more a blind shot. Not so blind, perhaps.

“Ding-ding-ding” she said happily, clapping her hands with a big smile on her face. “My, my! I can finally drop the accent too!” she laughed – sounding more British than ever.

“Does she know?” Bedelia asked, trying to look as calm as possible. She was actually very nervous now. She knew the Rabbit was aggressive – she didn’t really know that, but Alice believed so… and it was actually pretty obvious that he wasn’t just in her mind.

“That I’m real? No” she said with a sad look in her eyes. “All those stupid doctors made her believe that we’re just voices in her head – hallucinations due to her insanity”.

“ _We_?” Bedelia asked, puzzled. “How many of you exist?”

The Rabbit shrugged. “I don’t know… four, five? Maybe more… I control them, though”.

“She thinks she’s losing her mind” Bedelia was really concerned about Alice’s situation. That was… a problem.

Alice, the Rabbit, studied the room he was in. “We’re all mad here,” he said, Alice’s voice was so different – it was confusing and disturbing. He burst into laughter, that caused an uncomfortable sensation into Bedelia’s stomach. “Sorry, it’s just too funny” he said.

“You’re having fun, I am severely concerned about your host’s mental health…” she pointed out without expression in her voice. “I know you care about her too” she added.

“What makes you say so? I could decide to hop outside the window and kill her” he said with a grin.

Bedelia smiled, the corner of the Rabbit’s mouth fell as the grin faded. “You wouldn’t. You care about Alice just as much as she cares about you. All you want is to protect her. That’s why you killed in her place and that’s why you retired and forced the… others to retire” Bedelia said, studying the reaction of the woman in front of her. “You wanted that Alice – the real Alice, realized what the situation was. What she had gotten herself into, you wanted her to run away and she did”.

The Rabbit’s eyes flashed with anger. “I don’t know if you’re smart or very stupid”.

“To be honest, I am wondering the same” Bedelia admitted, letting herself fall back, until she rested her head against the armchair. “I am telling Alice about you, and the others. She needs to know, she needs to collate the information and to learn how to live with her reality”.

“I know she told you about Emily, right?”

“The girl that you pushed off the stairs, breaking her neck, when she was seven? Yes. Are you threatening me?” she asked, adjusting her hair to one shoulder.

The Rabbit laughed, apparently without reason. “Okay, okay. I won’t”.

“What?” Bedelia asked, confused.

“She’s screaming all kinds of insults at me right now, you know. I told you she really likes you” the Rabbit smiled again. “No, I won’t hurt her I promise, I promise…” he said aloud.

Bedelia couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved. “Why are you back?” she finally asked, hoping to get her answer.

“Because she needed me” he said immediately. “She needed me and I unleashed the others”.

“Why?”

“There’s a Jabberwock who’s trying to hurt her and we need to protect her” the Rabbit seemed sensible on that matter.

So Alice’s paranoia was reflected to all the others. “I need to talk to her, she might be afraid now” Bedelia said, softly. “Is this the first time that you've taken control over her in front of someone else?”

“You’re the only one who’s still alive” he pointed out with a proud look in his eyes.

“Let me talk to her, please” she asked again.

The Rabbit didn’t say a word, but he averted his eyes. For several seconds nothing happened, but a moment later, Alice blinked a few times – then she stood up and turned her head to Bedelia, with a frightened look on her face.

The older woman tried to get up, “It’s okay. You’ve been out for ten minutes only”.

“I— what?” Alice asked, her voice trembled. Her usual accent was more familiar to Bedelia. “Out? Out where? What—?”

“Alice, sit down” Bedelia demanded and she didn’t continue until they were both in their original places. “Have you ever heard about the Dissociative Identity Disorder?”

Alice nodded, but she didn’t say a word.

“I have very good reasons to believe that’s what you’re experiencing – what you have always experienced, weren’t hallucinations due to schizophrenia, not just that, at least” Bedelia said. “Hallucinations aren’t symptoms of the DID, but it is not so rare that more than one psychosis coexist in just one person”.

“What does it mean?” she asked, scared.

“It means that your doctors have been collecting all the pieces of the puzzle, but they placed them all in the wrong places” she sighed – how many lives they could have saved if they’d only _seen_ her. Maybe they deserved what they had.

Alice covered her face with both hands. “Jesus, Bedelia. _Please_! Can you – for a moment – stop talking shit and tell me exactly – with fucking human words _what the hell is going on_?”

 “The Rabbit is real” Bedelia said, trying not to sound so harsh. “The animals – or whatever you’re hearing are real. They are not voices into your head, they are other aspects of your personality and before you ask, I had a little chat with the Rabbit before, he confessed that he can control the others… and he didn’t want me to tell you about it”.

“Why?” she didn’t seem so surprised, maybe she even seemed relieved.

“I believe he feared to expose you too much”.

Alice smiled, “So… he’s real. And the hallucinations?”  


“That’s what I was trying to explain to you before… you clearly are experiencing paranoia and schizophrenic symptoms that may be linked to your DID disorder”.

“So I’m still crazy?” she asked.

Bedelia didn’t know how to reply. “Partially…” she finally said and Alice seemed _partially_ relieved. “You might find yourself unable to explain what you do or say sometimes, you might also lose track of time…”

“It happened all the time when I was with the Hatter,” Alice interrupted her.

“I know” Bedelia said softly, “but when the Rabbit retired himself into your mind, dragging the others with him – they left you alone. Now they are back and you might want to do something about it”.

“What can I do?” she asked.

“I am not exercising my profession officially, I can’t prescribe you anything. We can work together so that you’ll be able to control your alters. Even call them when you want, under relaxed situations but they will always come out without control if you’re stressed or scared, or sad…” Bedelia explained, trying to be as clear as possible.

“Like the Incredible Hulk?” Alice asked.

Bedelia didn’t reply, she averted her eyes – fixing them on a random spot on the wall behind the young woman. She bit her lip, with a bit of luck it might seemed that she was thinking about a reply, when she was actually trying not to laugh in her face. “Yes,” she said after a long pause, “sort of…”

 


	10. Get the party started

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bedelia makes the first move.

“Why do I have to wear this thing, again?” Alice’s was whining in front of a mirror – Cordelia was standing behind her, her arms crossed and a kind smile on her face.

The young woman was wearing a short, dark pink dress. It was extremely simple, with a high and square neckline and half-long sleeves.

It was obvious that she didn’t like it one bit, but she actually looked pretty cute dressed like that. “Because it’s a party and you can’t attend it wearing your uniform!” Cordelia laughed, unfolding her arms and joining Alice in front of the mirror. She put her hands on Alice’s shoulders and then she adjusted a strand of golden hair. “You’re such a beautiful girl, Alice. With the right pair of shoes and a bit of makeup, I’m sure you’re going to look gorgeous”.

“I don’t wear makeup… or heels” she turned her back to the mirror, facing the Supreme with a scared look on her face. “I’m a maid, why should I attend the party you’re having?”

“Because,”  Cordelia started, with a gentle voice, “these last few weeks have been very hard for all of us. So we’re inviting the whole Coven – and the guests of the house to enjoy one peaceful evening”.

Alice didn’t seem so convinced. “I am still having a hard time, you know” she sighed, trying to reach behind her back to scratch her  shoulder. She wasn’t used to wearing well manufactured dresses. “I don’t think that a party would be good for me. People frighten me, I could lock myself in the attic and pretend I don’t exist”.

“Don’t be stupid, Alice!” Cordelia scolded her, but her eyes kept smiling. “You’re coming to the party and you’re going to have fun. How’re your meetings with my sister going?”

Alice went to the window – they were in Cordelia’s room, and she had the biggest room, with the best view. A white light shined through the curtains, she pushed them apart and lost herself in the sight of the beautiful garden that surrounded the house.

“Alice?” Cordelia called her, and she jumped.

“Sorry, I wasn’t listening” she apologised, “I— I don’t know. They’re going well, I guess” she said, clearing her voice. “Cordelia, can you do something for me?”

The woman nodded, she was still concerned about her – Bedelia didn’t want to tell her what the two of them talked about, it was some kind of professional secret, she guessed. “Tell me” she smiled.

“Can you read my mind?” she asked out of the blue and Cordelia didn’t know if it was a joke or not. “I mean it,” she added – when she noticed the other woman’s scepticism. “I— it’s just something that… I’m just— just, just do it okay? Please”.

The reason why she asked for something so personal was unknown to the Supreme, but she noticed a strange look in the girl’s eyes – some kind of deep sadness and confusion.

It wasn’t a big deal for her – she had all the powers now and even if she could control some of them better than others, she _was_ able to read minds.

She just didn’t like doing it – it was like looking through someone else’s personal stuff and she was extremely uncomfortable with that.

For a moment she considered the idea of declining Alice’s request, but then again… she did ask for it, she wasn’t intruding on her privacy.

“Okay,” she said, still a bit unsure – “okay, sure… but, can I ask you why?”

“Because— I want to be sure of something” she simply said, averting her stare.

Cordelia nodded, and she closed her eyes – it worked better for her that way. She breathed slowly and she focused on the other presence in the room.

Hugged by the darkness, she visualised Alice’s face behind her closed lids. Her big green eyes, her full rosy lips – then her face disappeared and her voce filled her mind.

_I wonder if she’s actually able to do that._

_Maybe she’s just faking it._

_No, she’s not faking it… come on you’ve seen what she’s capable of._

_We could kill her now, she’s got her eyes closed._

_Shut up, Hare – she can hear you._

_No she can’t! She can hear you, not me._

_How do you know?_

_Because I do._

_Oh God, oh God! What if she’s a bad person? She might hurt us. What if she is helping the Jabberwock? Alice, do something before she hurts you._

_Mr. Mouse don’t be so paranoid, she won’t hurt us._

_How do you know? Can_ you _read her mind?_

_Maybe the Cat is right, Alice… maybe you can’t trust her._

_Don’t start that Turtle… please. Am I the only one here who trusts Cordelia?_

_I do…_

_Oh what an honour, Your Majesty._

_Rabbit, shut up. Don’t start a fight I already have a headache…_

_Is she asleep?_

_Kill her now._

_Hare shut up!_

_Kill her, Alice – she’s not looking!_

_I won’t. Rabbit do something._

_We might kill her, Alice. She might be a problem._

_She— oh Rabbit! She is Bedelia’s sister. Do you want her to be mad at you? Oh you don’t talk now, do you?_

Cordelia covered her ears with both hands and stumbled back, her eyes wide. When she closed her mind and opened her eyes, Alice was staring at her with an indecipherable look on her face. “What— what was that?” Cordelia asked, confused.

Alice’s eyes fell to the ground, her bottom lip trembled. “Shut up, everybody please just shut up!” she whined, grabbing her hair – scratching her scalp with her nails. “See? That’s why I don’t want to go to the party” she was almost crying now. She was hyperventilating and her cheeks were red.

She fell quiet for a while, Cordelia believed that she had calmed down a bit, but when she lifted her head, her eyes were vacant.

“Alice?”

“A cup…” she said, with a distant voice.

“What?” Cordelia was clueless, but she didn’t like what was happening.

“A cup,” Alice repeated, “I need a cup” – she left her room in a rush, and Cordelia had to follow her down the stairs, as she headed towards the kitchen. “Cup, cup, cup!” she kept repeating. “Do you have some tea here?” she asked.

“A-Alice, I—” Cordelia stammered, she had no idea what to do. “Why- why do you need a cup?”

Alice stopped, her head fell to one side – her ear almost touched her shoulder. Her eyes sparkled with a sinister light. “For the _tea_ , of course!” she opened the cupboard and reached for one of the porcelain pieces that they kept there. “You know what?” Alice said, with a smile. “I think I will have only half a cup” – with those words, she smashed the cup onto the counter and Cordelia jerked away.

“Alice!” she almost screamed and the girl’s reaction was almost immediate.

“Don’t,” she whispered, “scream… at… me…” she let the remaining pieces of the cup go and it shattered into a hundred pieces on the ground. “A knife,” Alice smiled, with a happy voice. “I want a knife now” she started hopping around the kitchen, opening all the drawers.

“I— I’m” she was about to leave and fetch her sister, when Bedelia showed up at the door with a puzzled look on her face.

“What is all this noise?” she asked, she was drunk again… before lunch.

“I don’t know she’s talking about cups and knives… she—”

“There! Found it. I like you big boy” Alice sounded delighted, as she lifted a big – shiny – butchering knife before her face. She turned to Cordelia with a malicious grin, “Now we’ll play”.

“Hare!” the stern tone in Bedelia’s voice made Cordelia feel uncomfortable – it incredibly resembled her mother’s. “Stop this nonsense, Alice. Focus on me, now” she clapped her hands and the girl’s eyes were on her – and so was the point of the knife. “Was she stressed?”

“I— yes, but…”

“Alice, take a deep breath and take control over your body. We’ve done it before, I know you can do it…” Bedelia’s voice was softer now, calmer… she articulated the words slowly.

Alice’s eyes went dead for a few seconds, then she let the knife go and it fell to the ground with a metallic sound. “I—” she said, covering her face and rushing the words, “I’m so sorry about this,” she said, before running out of the kitchen.

Cordelia was in shock. What had just happened? She looked at her sister for an explanation.

Bedelia sighed, as she sat onto a chair – ignoring the mess that was all around them. “Dissociative Identity Disorder,” she explained with a tired voice. “Nothing compared to what your girls are capable of, don’t worry about it”.

“‘Don’t worry about it?’ sister your patient has just threated to kill me, and she seemed quite out of her mind” Cordelia joined her at the table, reaching her hands to hold her sister’s.

Bedelia took her hands away, rejecting her touch. “Jennifer Hill set her bedroom ablaze during a nightmare two days ago. Sarah Lubin’s closet exploded while she was having a fight with her mother last week… not to mention that kid, Sybill Fisher… she lost control of her power during a class and she turned half of the children into pillars of salt. I might have my problems, but I am aware of what is going on around me” she closed her eyes and she touched her leg as if it was hurting. “Alice is not one of your witches but her needs are not different from those of your girls, Cordelia. She needs help, and you – for once, can’t provide it”.

She wanted to reply to her, she wanted to tell her that she was doing a very poor job with her girl, since she was so unstable. But she kept her mouth shout, she didn’t want to start a fight.

She was the Supreme and the Headmistress of the Academy, she was there to help – and to provide a source of help when she couldn’t do it herself – if her sister believed that that was the case, she would have trusted her.

* * *

That evening, Alice made a deal with the Rabbit. She would have left him free to rumble in her head – but he had to lock all the others away.

She wasn’t a party girl – but Christina wanted to join the others with her and she agreed to go with her.

The witches decorated the house and it was wonderful. The main – ginormous – living room was used as a ballroom.

All the furniture had been pushed against the walls and long tables had been placed, all covered with food.

Alice wasn’t quite sure what they were celebrating, but she was starting to like the atmosphere.

For the first time in days, she was free from the voices. Sure, there was still the Rabbit, but he was quiet that night. She was serene.

All the Coven was there; Cordelia was wearing a beautiful black dress, and she looked so powerful. Alice apologised again to her, but the Supreme didn’t seem to be mad at her.

She had felt so ashamed. That stupid Hare… she had finally figured out – with Bedelia’s help – that it was the Hare, that used to stick around the Hatter. She should have imagined it… those two were so perfect together.

She had grown closer to Christina, they watched _Mary Poppins_ together and she read some poems to her. The other maids were still a bit mean, and sometimes she had to try hard not to stab them with a fork in the eyes, but she was managing just fine.

Everything was so easier since she had discovered that those voices were actually real – they were people but they were also her – and it was complicated but she wasn’t crazy… she wasn’t imagining them.

Sometimes she liked to refer to it as her own superpower. She was a super girl among witches, it wasn’t that bad…

There was a singer, she was playing the piano and Cordelia was smiling next to her – tears in her eyes. She spotted Bedelia on a sofa, beside them.

Christina was nowhere to be found, and she took her chance to join the other woman.

She was wearing an amazing dress – it was black with gold patterns, it was strapless and it hugged her perfectly. Its train was a golden pool at her feet.

“Nobody’s asked you for a dance?” Alice joked, as she sat beside the older woman, on the leather couch. “That’s so rude…”

Bedelia usually let all her teasing go, this time she didn’t. Maybe it was the festive atmosphere, the music or the alcohol, but she smirked at Alice. “I was considering the idea of joining Stevie at the piano. I haven’t played anything in a while, but I should still be able to perform”.

Kyle approached them with his usual butler attire – why he could still do his job and she couldn’t? – offering a silver plate with two red wine goblets on it. Bedelia took them both and thanked the boy, who retired. She handed one glass to Alice.

The girl took it and sipped at the wine. “Mh—” she hummed, nodding at Bedelia, “I’d be glad to hear you play the piano. Break a leg!”

Bedelia almost choked on her wine, she raised her eyebrows and when Alice grinned with pride, she offered a toast to celebrate her victory.

Their glasses clinked together, as the music stopped. After a long applause, the blonde woman started to play another song.

Bedelia couldn’t really go anywhere, since the dress was long and she was also wearing heels… so they sat there, they talked a little – mostly they listened to the songs the witch was playing.

Alice found out that her name was Stevie Nicks and apparently she was quite famous. She was the favourite singer of one of Cordelia’s friends. The dead one…

She liked her songs; she was about to ask Bedelia more about her when Cordelia joined them with a man by her side. He was an old, fat, funny man… but Bedelia seemed to know him.

With her sister’s help she got to her feet and greeted the funny man; he was an old friend of the family that she hadn’t seen in like thirty years or something. As Stevie Nicks joined the conversation, Alice was tempted to leave… but she just stayed on the sofa, sipping at her wine, pretending to be very busy at counting all the people in the room.

She didn’t know when – but at some point Bedelia was at her side again, “Sorry about that” she said with a happy sigh – her face was glowing due to the alcohol.

Alice was starting to feel tipsy too. “It’s okay, who was he?”

“A lawyer, friend of my mother” she explained, fixing her hair and emptying her glass. “Would you mind helping me to the refreshment table?”

“I can bring you something if you like” Alice offered, but Bedelia waved her offer away – so she stood up, feeling her head light on her shoulders and she took both of Bedelia’s hands in her own. She pulled lightly and the other woman stood up, stumbled forward and she whined in pain. “What?” Alice asked, concerned.

“It seems I really did break my leg…” she said with a laboured voice and a forced smile on her lips. She reached for her leg with discretion, and she tried to pull at the fabric of the dress, holing one of Alice’s arms for balance. 

“The good one?”

“No, the prosthesis… I can feel that something is stuck in my knee, I think it’s the dress” she sighed heavily, pulling again, but there were too many people in the room and she didn’t want to catch their attention.

“Do you want me to walk you to your room?” Alice asked, a little nervous. She hoped that nothing had happened to her leg, she knew how frustrating it was for Bedelia not being able to move.

The other woman nodded, and Alice wrapped her arm around her waist and escorted her outside the room.

Alice entered Bedelia’s bedroom with some difficulties – the other woman was hopping on her good leg, leaning against her.

They were both tipsy – which in her case wasn’t such a big deal, but Bedelia couldn’t stand on her own feet – foot, whatever.

The older woman sat on her bed, while Alice went to close the door, then she returned to her and she knelt before her, to see what was wrong with the prosthetic leg, but everything seemed normal.

“The dress is ok, but maybe it’s something else. Wait, I’ll take it off you”.

She was getting better, but she still had problems with all those strings. Now that the leg wasn’t placed correctly – it was even harder.

She had to pull a bit and Bedelia – who wasn’t paying much attention – almost fell over the edge of the bed. She had to put both of her hands on Alice’s shoulders for balance.

“Whoops!” Alice apologised, with a nervous giggle. “Sorry, this thing is stuck…”

Bedelia pushed herself further onto the mattress with a groan. “Try that clip,” she said, lifting her leg a bit.

“Which one?” Alice tried to do something with the clip right under her hand, but nothing happened. “Nope… nothing”.

“Not that one,” Bedelia sighed, lifting her leg even more – her knee was at the same height of Alice’s shoulder. “The one below the garter”.

Alice gasped in frustration. “How am I supposed to reach for it if it’s covered with that thing?”

Bedelia looked puzzled. “Push the garter aside…” she started with the same tone that she would use with a child, “and then unclip the prosthesis”.

Alice did as she was told – she pushed the lacy fabric up her thigh carefully, (the dress Bedelia was wearing was in the way and she had to slip her hand underneath it to reach the clip – lifting her eyes to the ceiling and moving them along with her arm) and she managed to unclip her leg.

A clicking sound echoed in the room and she felt the leg detaching from Bedelia’s body. “There!” Alice exclaimed happily. “Done it, you’re free”.

“Good,” Bedelia replied with a warm voice, and she used the grip she had on Alice’s shoulders to pull her towards her.

For a brief moment, Alice didn’t know what was happening – since it happened so fast, but the second later, she was kissing the woman before her.

Alice registered a loud thud next to her – the leg had probably just fallen to the ground.

She didn’t react immediately, but the sensation of Bedelia’s lips pressed against hers was good and she didn’t protest when the older one deepened the kiss.


	11. How I did it - by the bride of Frankenstein

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They do the do... and then something happens.  
> I'm so good at summaries.

Bedelia may have, or she may not have exaggerated the situation just to lead her to her bedroom, but she was getting bored at the party and spending time with Alice was a much better alternative at this moment in time.

Her good leg was wrapped around the young woman’s waist – pulling her towards her. Alice had been so clueless when she asked her to walk her to her room, that she almost believed she would reject her.

The second their lips touched, she realised that that wasn't the case.

They had played the game long enough, Bedelia caught her staring – it was quite obvious, the mutual attraction. Why not go to the next level, then?

Bedelia’s heels were painfully pushing against the girl’s back, but she didn’t seem to notice.

Alice’s tongue tasted like the wine she had at the party, a wave of excitement warmed her stomach – she moaned softly into the kiss, placing a hand at the base of the young woman’s neck.

When they broke the kiss, they stared at each other in silence. Bedelia tried to find something in Alice’s eyes – indecision, maybe. Instead, she found her own desire, mirrored in Alice’s dilated pupils.

As they undressed each other, their hands travelled around their bodies – feeling, touching, caressing, learning.

Alice’s initial awkwardness had been replaced by fluid movements and natural instincts.

The alcohol was clouding her mind, the euphoric sensation given her by the wine was now replaced by the burning desire slowly building inside her.

Her beautiful golden dress had been tossed aside, and it was now resting on the ground along with Alice’s dark pink one.

Alice’s hand caressed her right leg, as she was placing hot wet kisses along her abdomen. Another soft moan left Bedelia’s lips, lost as she was in the sweet sensation – she almost forget about her other leg.

She was trying hard not to think about it, but the truth was that in that particular moment, she felt very self-conscious about her appearance. It was almost like she could see her mutilated body from above. She blinked the image of it away, but she couldn’t help it.

Alice, on the other hand – seemed to have barely noticed the missing limb. She was too focused on learning everything she could about the other parts of her body.

As Alice's lips closed around her nipple, Bedelia tried to forget about it. She groaned and arched her back, pushing her breast against Alice.

The ache between Bedelia's legs was starting to be unbearable, another cry left her lips, she closed her eyes when Alice kissed the side of her neck – nibbling and licking.

“No marks,” she whispered in a low moan, trying to keep her body under control. She didn’t want any bite marks or anything else on her body.

Alice found Bedelia's mouth again and she kissed her softly, their tongues savouring each other.

Bedelia’s heart started to beat furiously as Alice started to kiss her further down her body. She left another wet trace of kisses, slowly tasting the skin beneath her – the sensation was akin to limbo, between heaven and hell.

Of all her lovers, Alice was the most delicate one. Curious, for a serial killer to be that tender.

Bedelia held her breath when Alice’s lips brushed against her inner thigh, her whole body quivered in anticipation.

The world around her disappeared as Alice finally placed a sweet kiss on the top of her clit, before burying her head between her legs. Her long golden locks tickled her skin, as she let out a satisfied groan.

Her hands clasped the sheet beneath her, her back arched in pleasure.

The sensation of Alice’s tongue caressing her clit was overwhelming – her body trembled, both of the girl’s hands were on her hips, keeping her down, pushing her against the mattress.

Alice was incredibly slow, it was tremendously frustrating – but her tongue kept doing a constant pressure between her legs and she could feel herself getting closer to her climax with every stroke.

As a loud sigh escaped Bedelia’s mouth, she buried her right hand in the young woman’s hair, caressing her and trying to keep her as close as possible.

Alice got the hint and she slipped her arms around Bedelia, lifting her slightly and pushing her tongue easily inside her thanks to the new angle.

“Oh, God—” she cried out loud, lifting her hips even more; she was glad that the Coven was still attending the party – hopefully.

It was like the ceiling and the floor, along with the walls started to spin around them – leaving her dizzy and breathless.

She panted, feeling closer to the edge with every passing second. “Oh God… yes—” she moaned again, biting her bottom lip hard, trying to keep herself quiet.

Alice’s movements were so delicate and yet so determined; she closed her eyes and let the world spin, as a wave of intense pleasure hit her. Lights sparkled behind her closed lids and another wave of pleasure exploded in her stomach.

She moaned, breathing heavily as her hand closed around Alice’s hair – perhaps too tightly – while the girl accompanied her during her orgasm.

As she calmed down, she felt Alice’s lips on her body again – this time placing softer kisses along her jawline, on her lips. She kissed her, deepening the kiss again and she tasted herself on the girl’s tongue.

They stared at each other in silence – blue eyes meeting green ones. It was almost like there was nothing to say, but Alice’s pupils were still dilated – her breathing was irregular and her eyes were asking something her mouth didn’t dare to ask.

Bedelia leaned forward, capturing her lips once more. She kissed her harder this time, the girl’s tenderness was something new to her.

She sat up against the headboard, without breaking the kiss and with a fluid motion of her arm, she pulled Alice atop her so that the young woman could straddle her good leg.

Only then did she realis how incredibly wet Alice was. The girl started rocking slowly, rubbing herself against her skin.

Alice had to break the kiss as a soft moan escaped her lips, her head fell back and that gave Bedelia the opportunity to kiss her neck. She could feel her pulse, beating strong against her lips.

The warmth of her body was a marvellous sensation that filled every inch of her body, and soul. She held her against her – their breasts touching, Alice’s head now resting on Bedelia’s shoulder as the older woman slipped a hand between them.

She caressed Alice’s entrance, before she slipped two fingers inside her and her palm brushed against her clit.

The girl let out a moan that made Bedelia tremble – she felt her damp forehead lifting, then falling again against her shoulder. Her breathing was accelerating fast; Bedelia turned her head and placed a kiss right above her ear. She could recognise the smell of her hair, mixed with sweat and excitement. It was an aphrodisiac.

She closed her eyes as she felt Alice’s walls clenched around her fingers as the girl came silently, biting hard onto her own lips.

Her body fell limp against hers; Bedelia removed her hand from inside her and she placed it next to her, turning her head to the girl once again – she nuzzled her nose against Alice’s skin and the young woman hummed in delight.

After a while, she sensed Alice’s body shifting, she looked down and found her big green eyes staring back at her. “Can I stay?” she asked in a small voice.

It wasn’t her intention to make her stay, actually – but those eyes and that voice. She couldn’t really say no. “I’m not good company during the night” Bedelia said, “My sleeping habits are unusual, my insomnia keeps me awake most of the time”.

“It’s okay, I talk in my sleep…” was she giving her the puppy eyes on purpose? What a little minx.

Bedelia sighed and averted her gaze. Rolling her eyes, the woman nodded and she felt Alice’s hug tightening around her body.

“What happened to your leg?” she asked after another long pause.

Bedelia felt a shiver of discomfort running through her spine – she fixed her eyes on the wall. “I don’t want to talk about it” she answered with a whisper.

“Please,” Alice insisted, “I want to know…”

“If I tell you, will you stop talking?” Bedelia looked down, Alice looked up and their eyes met. The young woman nodded with a smile, and Bedelia knew that she was going to have a restless night. “Someone— someone cut it off” she said, trying hard not to think about it, but she knew what was coming next.

“Who?”

“A patient of mine”.

“The one that you killed?”

“The one that I didn’t”.

“Tell me…”

Bedelia fell silent, she would have traded everything  so that she wouldn't have to relive those moments again.

If she had died in that precise instant – she was sure that her Hell would have looked like her old house, during her last supper.

Bedelia closed her eyes and she took a deep breath; the air filling her lungs almost hurting her, her heart was pounding in her ribcage – she could hear her own ears throbbing along with her pulse. She was short of breath.

Alice let her go and she sat against the headboard, she reached for Bedelia’s white robe and she put it on. “You know,” she started with a casual voice – Bedelia’s eyes were on her now, as she was trying to normalise her breathing, “this is the first time that I don’t have to kill someone after I’ve slept with ‘em”.

Bedelia didn’t reply – she couldn’t articulate a word, but she didn’t take her eyes off her.

“The Hatter,” Alice continued, “he made me have sex with men and then I was supposed to cut their throats. I thought it was fun… well, the Hare – he thought it was fun” the young woman sighed, a nostalgic smile appeared on her face. “I— I don’t know how many people I’ve killed, but he was so proud of me and I was so happy… I never realised that what I was doing was crazy” Alice lowered her eyes, her smile still in place.

Bedelia had nothing to cover herself with, and she was starting to have chills, so she shifted a bit on the bed and she slipped under the covers. “You’ve never told me that before” she whispered, hugging the white sheet.

“I was ashamed,” Alice explained, without looking up, “the Hatter told me that they were bad men and that I was doing a good thing and he always said that I looked so marvellous covered in blood”.

“Did he ever touch you?” Bedelia couldn’t help but ask for more information – she wasn’t sure if she was asking as a psychiatrist or as whatever she was to her at this point.

Alice giggled as she shook her head. “No…” she said with a smile, her eyes were still low. “No, he was so kind to me. He loved me so much… I miss him… all the time…” her voice softened at the end of the sentence, her eyes closed and Bedelia had the feeling that she had just made her first mistake with Alice.

She reached for her bedside table very slowly, her eyes fixed on the woman next to her – there was a gun inside the drawer, her fingers had brushed the handle when Alice spoke again, her voice calm. “Relax,” she said – the accent was her usual – “the Rabbit always keeps his promises” she sighed and Bedelia had no idea what she had meant, but she was glad that Alice was still Alice.

Resting again against the headboard, Bedelia felt the sudden need of a shot of whiskey. She knew why Alice shared that story with her… now it was her turn, wasn’t it?

She sighed, bringing her eyes on the ceiling. How in the world was she supposed to explain what had happened to her?

“My relationship with this patient was… unique” she started, trying not to smile at her own words – _unique_ wasn’t the right term, but it was the best one she could find. “I thought I was capable of controlling my life but the situations slipped out of my hands” she explained, breathing slowly – she closed her eyes, ignoring the tingling sensation in her throat.

“What happened?” Alice insisted, but she didn’t sound curious this time, just concerned.

Bedelia swallowed hard, images of blood and beautiful old buildings flashed in her mind. “I— I thought that I was safe, that he couldn’t hurt me anymore. Obviously I was wrong…” she laughed a bitter laugh, the corner of her lips curled as a sudden wave of anger hit her. She wasn’t mad at Hannibal, she was mad at herself. She had been so stupid…

“Why did he do this to you?” Alice leaned forward, resting her head on Bedelia’s shoulder; it was a comforting touch.

Bedelia rested her own temple against Alice’s forehead; she reached for the young woman’s hand and she held it for support. “He wanted to make a meal out of me” she breathed heavily, those words were almost impossible to say – she shivered, and she felt Alice’s grip tightening around her hand.

“I thought he wanted to kill you”.

“He did… he wanted to disembody me, piece by piece and feast on my flesh” Bedelia wasn’t sure that the lump in her throat was due to the fact that she was trying hard not to cry, or she was simply feeling sick and she needed to throw up. “He organized a dinner party, for me… his… partner and himself”.

“He forced you to eat your own leg?” Alice sounded shocked– Bedelia wasn’t sure that succeeding in impressing a person like Alice was a good thing.

She nodded, turning her head so that now her lips were pressed against the girl’s temple. She could smell her delicate perfume, it was relaxing. She closed her eyes again. “He would have had me eat every part of me if I hadn't managed to escape.”.

“How did you do it? Without a leg…” Alice lifted her head and their eyes met, Bedelia could see curiosity and something else reflected in her pupils. Her features were soft, but her forehead was wrinkled by a confused frown.

Bedelia didn’t want to talk about it, but she knew that Alice would insist, so she had to.

“He and his partner showed up to my house when I was about to leave… I had a place to go, a safe place. I had used it before… but they were faster than I had expected” Bedelia started, placing both hands in her lap and pursuing her lips, trying to talk normally. “He drugged me but I was awake when he cut off my leg with a meat slicer. He was smiling at me, his partner offered me wine… I could hear classical music playing in the living room”.

Bedelia cleared her throat, but it wasn’t much use. She could feel the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“It was the most beautiful dinner party I have ever attended” she said softly, a tear rolled down her cheek. “The way he had treated the meat was exquisite” a sad smile appeared on her lips as she lowered her eyes and another tear joined the first one – her bottom lip trembled as her voice became weaker. “It was like a beautiful nightmare,” she explained, looking up in an attempt at stopping the tears.

Alice brushed her cheek with the tips of her fingers. “Then why did you leave?” she asked in a soft tone.

“Because I didn’t want to die—” Bedelia’s voice broke in a sob and she put a hand on her chest; Alice laid down on the bed, resting her head on Bedelia’s lap. As a reflex, the older woman started to pet her hair. “All I wanted to do was disappear, reach my safe house and stay away from Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham for the rest of my life” another sob escaped her lips. She didn’t say anything else for a while after the last sentence.

“What happened later?” Alice asked, with a quizzical tone.

Bedelia sighed loudly – she had calmed herself a bit, her heart was beating normally now. “I just did it” she said and Alice lifted her head.

“You just did it?” she repeated, with a puzzled look in her eyes. “You disappeared? How?”

Bedelia closed her eyes and rested her head against the headboard. “I haven’t the slightest clue, but that’s exactly what happened”.

Alice sat up quickly, the bed creaked under her weight. “You disappeared into thin air just like that?”

“Just like that…”

“So you _are_ a witch?”

“I—” Bedelia didn’t know what to say, it was frustrating, “it’s never happened before and it’s never happened since” she replied, with a tired voice. “Not even my sister knows, so please don’t tell a soul”.

“And what did you do? What did they do? Where did you go?” Alice spoke so quickly that Bedelia almost didn’t catch the words.

“The second before I was sitting at my table, heavily drugged – and a second later I was on the floor of my safe house… I lost consciousness, I woke up days later and I—” she rubbed her eyes. “I hid there for a while, then I started traveling until I decided to come here”.

“Are they looking for you?” Alice asked, with a thrilled voice.

Bedelia looked at her, she blinked slowly. “Is the Hatter looking for you?”

“I don’t know…”

“Neither do I, but I guess they were quite surprised when they came back from the kitchen with the dessert to find an empty room” Bedelia replied, this time an amused smiled crept weakly on her lips.

Alice smiled back and she pulled at her arm lightly so that she slid down the bed and lay next to her. The girl curled up against her, hugging her tightly. “I’m glad you’re alive” she said, holding back a yawn.

“Me too” Bedelia replied, closing her eyes.

They stayed there still, hugging in silence – until Bedelia heard the girl’s breath becoming heavier. She sighed – maybe it wasn’t a bad idea, trying to get some sleep.

With all the range of emotions experienced that evening, maybe she could have a peaceful night, for once.

She turned off the lights and she fell asleep quickly, and without any sleeping pills – she didn’t know why or when she woke up, but it was still very dark outside.

A quick look at the clock and she realised it was still very late – almost too early. She sensed Alice shifting and she noticed that she was awake too, and as confused as she was.

A moment later they both realised why they were awake: outside the door, someone was running, voices were starting to talk loudly.

“What’s going on?” Alice asked, still half asleep.

“I don’t know” Bedelia replied. “Maybe something happened at the party” she assumed, but it was late – the party should have ended hours ago.

Then a sharp sound of shattering glass echoed outside the closed door; Bedelia shivered nervously, and then the clear and terrifying scream of a girl filled the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I don't know how to write smut, apparently. I don't know, that seemed crappy to me but ok.  
> Let me know, please...


	12. The Dollbreaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never *ever* leave Alice alone with a corpse. Never.

In the blink of an eye Alice was at the door, her hand already on the handle – when Bedelia stopped her.

Alice turned her head towards Bedelia and saw her lean forward in an attempt to attach her leg back into place.

Alice could see the vertebrae in Bedelia’s bare back moving along with her movements – it was fascinating; she didn’t ask if she needed her help. “I thought it was broken” she said instead.

Bedelia stopped, turning her head to the girl and she smiled. “I fixed it” she replied, reaching for her cane. She stood up, opened her wardrobe and she quickly put her nightgown on.

As soon as they left Bedelia’s room, it was obvious that something was very wrong. The girls were gathering in the hall, the front door was open, the lights on the porch were on.

They were whispering, but Alice couldn’t understand what they were saying.

She stood on the porch, trying to avoid physical contact with the other girls and the chilly air crept under the thin robe she was wearing. She checked that the knot was holding well, then she proceeded to leave the porch.

Her bare foot touched the cold grass and a tickling sensation made her shiver a bit. Bedelia wasn’t by her side anymore – she’d left her at the front door, but she was too curious not to go outside.

The voices were louder, she could her Cordelia talking and another voice – maybe it was Zoe’s.

Her vision was blocked by a group of people that were gathered next to the house, in a circular formation. She could tell that Cordelia and Zoe were inside the circle.

Alice was a tiny person; she crawled to the ground and sneaked into the crowd, trying not to touch anybody – but they were all too focused on something that she could not yet see.

When she stood up again, she saw what all the fuss was about – and it wasn’t a pleasant view.

There was a girl – she didn’t know her name but she had seen her before – and she was definitely dead. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth too. Blood was rushing from her half crushed head. Her legs were both broken and the bones had come out of the skin. One of the shoulders was dislocated. There was glass all over the place and she had several shards deep inside her body.

Alice looked up, she had fallen from somewhere for sure. In fact, one of the windows on the upper floors was broken. She didn’t know whose room that was.

“He had to do it!” Zoe was screaming at one of the girls, Cordelia was hugging her. “She attacked me…” she sobbed.

Alice’s eyes went to the boy who was half-hiding behind Cordelia. Kyle looked like a scared puppy. He was holding Zoe’s hand, and he was shaking like a leaf.

So had he pushed the girl out of the window? If so, why? What had happened there. Alice wanted to know who the girl was…

“Girls,” Cordelia called, placing a hand behind Zoe’s head, “go back to your rooms now and lock your doors”.

It was standard practice, apparently.

“Didn't you hear the Supreme?” Queenie’s voice boomed in the night and a few girls seemed to be awakened by a dream. “Go back to your rooms! There’s nothing you can do here”.

Slowly, they did as they were told – until the only people left in the garden were Zoe, Kyle, Cordelia, Queenie and Alice… and the corpse, of course. Weren’t they going to close her eyes? They were creepy…

“Alice?” Cordelia called to her, looking up at her as she did so. “What are you still doing here?”

“Don’t you need help?”

Cordelia looked defeated, she could read a flash of insecurity in her eyes. She sighed, still hugging Zoe. “I’ll walk Zoe and Kyle to their room and make sure they are okay. Would you help Queenie to… do something about this?”

Alice nodded and she turned to Queenie, she was already rolling up her sleeves. “Okay Blondie, you go and fetch some rags and I’ll take her to the greenhouse. Apparently that’s our new morgue” that being said, Queenie grabbed the body by the arms and started to drag it onto the grass, leaving a wet, shiny blood trial – how in the world was she going to clean it up?

She went back to the house, the corridors were empty – she headed straight to the kitchen and she was surprised to find out that Bedelia was in there. She wasn’t as surprised when she noticed the glass in her hands.

“A girl’s dead” she greeted her – Bedelia didn’t blink.

“I know” she said after a while, “Did you know her?”

Alice shook her head, as she approached the sink and she knelt before it, opening the drawers. “I’ve seen her sometimes but I didn’t know her name”.

“Jennifer Hills,” Bedelia informed her, lifting the glass to her lips and emptying half of it in one gulp.

Alice knew that name, she collected a few items from under the sink and she joined Bedelia at the table – Queenie could wait a few minutes, right? “The girl that set her room on fire?”

Bedelia nodded, pouring herself another glass of whiskey. “She was having an extremely vivid nightmare. I wonder if her death might be linked to it”.

Alice stopped Bedelia’s arm in mid-air and she took her glass from her hand, she emptied it and she gave it back to her. “She didn’t jump, she was pushed”.

“I know that too…” Bedelia sighed, rubbing her eyes – she seemed tired, maybe she should go to bed. “The girls are scared. Do you know why Kyle is the way he is?” she asked.

“There’s a reason why he’s so creepy?” Alice placed the rags on the table, too curious to care about the blood and the body now.

Bedelia started to trace the rim of her glass with her index finger, her eyes were on the amber liquid inside it. “He died in a car accident, and he was brought back to life by Zoe and another girl… but they weren’t experts and… something went wrong. Apparently, his habits have improved tremendously”.

“So he’s like Frankenstein’s monster?” Alice’s voice was light and casual – so inappropriate for a moment like that, but she didn’t know.

The finger that was tracing the rim of the glass started to shake and Bedelia lifted her whiskey, emptying another glass, before pouring some more into it. “Zoe died too…” she said, her voice was raspy, the whiskey was burning her throat. “Cordelia brought her back, before she became the Supreme”.

“She seems to be doing fine” Alice said, trying to reach for Bedelia’s glass again – but this time the other woman stopped her, apparently she didn’t want to share anymore.

“She is,” Bedelia said, “but sometimes she still has nightmares”.

“Jennifer died too? I mean… before tonight”.

“No,” Bedelia decided that half a bottle was enough and she passed her glass to Alice, “but I believe that the reason why my sister is so reluctant to bring someone back from the dead is that she knows that necromancy is a very dangerous art”.

“Zoe said that Kyle had to push Jennifer because she attacked her” Alice’s voice was starting to be defensive – she didn’t know why. “that's self-defence… isn't it?”

“Do you believe her?” she asked in a low voice, breathing heavily – she seemed on the point of fainting.

“Why not?” Alice shrugged, “I think they had no other reason to kill her…”

Cordelia stopped at the kitchen door, she knocked before speaking. “Alice, you still want to help? We’re shorthanded…”

Alice nodded, getting up. “Are you going to be okay?” she asked Bedelia, placing a hand on her shoulder. The woman nodded, but she didn’t move. “Do you want me to walk you to bed again?”

“No,” she replied with a tired voice, “I’ll stay here a little longer, don’t worry about me” she smiled at her tiredly.

Alice smiled back and she left with Cordelia, when they reached the spot where the body had fallen, she realised that the blood and the glass of the window had disappeared.

“I took care of it” Cordelia explained, “I want you to help Queenie, she told me you’re not afraid of blood, is that true?”

“Oh, yes…” Alice laughed a bit, but she realised that that was probably unkind, so she coughed awkwardly. “I have been… a nurse” she lied, but that seemed the right thing to say.

“Good,” Cordelia seemed relieved, “then maybe you can help us. I don’t want to bury her in the state she is now”.

When they reached the greenhouse, Cordelia showed Queenie and Alice what they were supposed to do, then she left again because she didn’t want to leave Kyle and Zoe alone.

The greenhouse was always warmer than outside, but she wasn’t wearing any clothes under her robe, so she was still chilly. “Did you know her?” she asked Queenie as she approached the corpse on the table.

She still had her eyes open, Alice closed them as well as the mouth. Her face was scratched by the broken glass, she had a few shards stuck in her cheeks and forehead.

“Yeah,” Queenie replied, taking out a pair of tweezers from Cordelia’s toolbox, “she was okay”.

Alice stayed still as she observed Queenie removing the glass shards from Jennifer’s face with the tweezers, and placing them into a plastic can. “Why do you think she attacked Zoe?”

“I have no idea,” Queenie answered, she seemed pretty affected by the situation she was in, “I mean, if it wasn’t Zoe I’d say that it would be a lie. Jen was… okay”.

“You don’t think that Zoe lied? To protect Kyle… maybe?”

“No,” she said, she was starting to get mad, “and what was Jen doing in their room anyways?”

“I don’t know” Alice shrugged, taking out a big piece of glass from the girl’s bloody stomach.

Queenie let out a disgusted sound. “Jesus Blondie, how can you do that with bare hands?”

“It’s no biggie,” she smiled, “you want me to do it by myself?”

“You would spare me the job?” Queenie sounded terribly relieved.

Alice nodded, her smile widened.

“You know what? I don’t care what people say… you’re fine to me” Queenie put down the tweezers and she cleaned her hands with a towel, before leaving Alice alone in the greenhouse.

Jennifer’s body was a masterpiece.

Alice proceeded to straighten her legs – her skin was still warm, but her broken legs weren’t easy to fix.

Disgusting and loud creaking sounds filled the room, Alice tried to put some bones back in place, but she ended up ruining Bedelia’s robe and nothing else.

Alice tried to put the dislocated shoulder back into place, accidentally breaking the arm as she did so – but the shoulder was fine… she then rolled the body and took the tweezers out again.

 _Her brain looks so funny_. A voice said, she wasn’t quite sure who – she was too focused on her task.

“Shut up, I’m trying to take out this little bastard here,” there was a tiny piece of glass stuck behind her neck and it was giving her hell.

_Nobody’s gonna notice that, Alice. They’ll bury her with her back to the ground._

“Mh, maybe you’re right Turtle…” she gave up with the tweezers and she picked up a clean rag – she wetted it and she started to clean up the body. “Should I undress her?”

_Can I play with her brain?_

“No!” Alice whispered angrily, cleaning the blood from Jennifer’s massacred legs.

_Please, Alice. Please… just a minute, just for a little while…_

Alice sighed, she put the cloth down and she caressed Jennifer’s wet and dirty head. The blood was still sticky but she wasn’t bleeding anymore. Her head was smashed, it was almost open in half.

 _Stick your finger in there_.

Alice did as she was told, the brain was mushy and squishy and warm… it was so much fun. Alice giggled.

_Sniff it, come on._

It smelled bad, and funny. She wondered what would it taste like.

She put her finger in her mouth, tasting dirt and blood.

_Ehw, no good. No good. Why don’t you take one of her eyes out?_

“No, that’s not funny Hare!” Alice whined, picking up the dirty cloth again and wetting it in a bucket full of water. “I have stuff to do”.

_Come on, Alice! Let’s have fun. I want to play… cut her fingers, see if blood comes out._

“It won’t. She’s dead. Don’t make me call the Rabbit”.

 _No!_ The Hare screamed, Alice trembled. _No! Please don’t call him! I’ll be good, I’ll be good. I swear._

“Fine…” Alice sighed, with a pleased look on her face.

* * *

Cordelia was in her study; the door was locked and the curtains were shut closed.

She had no more tears to shed. What was happening to her Coven?

For more than a week she believed that everything had ended. She _saw_ what Kim had done, she was sure of that. But what was happening now? And why?

Were there two killers? Was Jennifer involved from the beginning? Did she condemn an innocent witch?

It was in cases like this that she wished for Myrtle to be there… she would have known what to do, how to proceed.

She couldn’t trust her powers; what if the vision she had was fake? What if Kim was innocent and the murderer was Jennifer from the beginning?

Was Jennifer such a powerful witch to modify her visions? No… no, Jennifer was just a regular witch. She was sure of it…

Jennifer had pyrotechnic powers – nothing else. She had never experienced any other kind of powers, like some of the other girls have.

It wasn’t so unusual for a witch to have more than one power – sure it was not the norm, but it wasn’t something rare…

Jennifer was a regular witch, with only one kind of power… she wasn’t even so good at controlling it. She still had so much to learn at the Academy.

She knew that Jennifer was a friend of Kim’s, the girls were pretty close, and she knew that her death had upset her a lot. Maybe she was trying to avenge her friend by killing one of her pupils.

It seemed very unlikely, though… Jennifer was a nice girl, she never caused any trouble with the others.

“This is so surreal” Cordelia said to herself, “this can’t be happening”.

What was she supposed to do now? Close the Academy? Send the girls to their home? Some of them didn’t even have a family…

Cordelia heard a knock on the door that distracted her from her own thoughts, she rubbed her forehead. “Come in,” she replied to the knock, with a tired voice.

She was surprised to see her sister, standing in the doorframe, leaning against her cane. “I thought you might want to talk to someone” she said, entering the room and closing the door behind her.

Her breathing was laboured, it must have been hard climbing all those stairs by herself. Cordelia’s office was on the last floor.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile; she could smell an heavy trace of alcohol on Bedelia. She couldn’t blame her this time. “Are you okay?” she asked, sitting at her desk, inviting her sister to do the same.

Bedelia sat in front of her, placing the cane next to her feet. “Yes, but I believe I am the one who is supposed to ask you this question” she replied, a sad smile on her face. She was drunk but her mind was still working properly, then.

Cordelia pursued her lips – a gesture the two had in common, inherited by their mother. “You disappeared in the middle of the party, I thought you’d felt sick”.

Bedelia shook her head slowly, averting her eyes and fixing them on the dead plant on Cordelia’s desk. “I’m fine, don’t worry”.

She didn’t believe her, her sister was a good actress. The two stared at each other for a while, Cordelia tried to enter her mind, but the moment she did, she lowered her eyes with an amused smirk on her lips. “At least one of us had fun tonight”.

She felt Bedelia stiffening in her seat. “Would you please get out of my head, sister?”

“I’m sorry… I just wanted to be sure you weren’t lying” she apologised, still smiling but her eyes were sad again, after a brief moment. “I can’t believe this is happening to my Coven” she breathed out, letting herself sink into the armchair.

“I think you should ask for help, Delia…” her sister confessed, sounding dreadfully serious.

She knew this was what she was supposed to do, but she had no one she could ask. “Ever since Mom left, I have run the Coven on my own as a Headmistress before and as a Supreme now… we all went through a hard time last year… and I managed to solve the situation”.

Bedelia sighed, they had talked about it many times since her sister joined the Coven. “Yes, but at what price?” she asked, in a worried tone. “You can’t go through all that again, you would not survive this time, sister”.

She knew that too, and the last thing the Coven needed was another new Supreme. Cordelia stayed quiet, her silence was the proof her sister needed to know she had struck the right chord.

“You have more experience than me in this account” Bedelia continued, “I suggest you sleep on it and make your decision tomorrow morning, but don’t wait too long” she stood up and approached the door; before leaving, she turned to her sister once more. “You have a Damocles’ sword dangling over your head, Cordelia, and it won’t bear the weight of another death”.

Her sister’s last words echoed in her mind for a long time. She poured herself a glass of white wine and she waited twenty minutes before she was ready to leave.

The sun was going to rise in a few hours – there was no way she could come up with a solution in such a short time.

On the stairs to her floor, she met Alice – she was covered in blood. Her hands were red, her hair was stained, her bare feet were covered with mud, she was leaving dirty prints everywhere, but Cordelia didn’t have the strength to tell her.

Alice stopped and hid her hands behind her back. “I cleaned up Jennifer’s body, but she is still pretty bad” she said. “Her head was open in half, her bones were broken…”

“That’s okay, Alice” Cordelia said to her, the girl was unusual and she could actually see why her sister was into her… Bedelia had always had an insane interest into people like Alice. Even when she was only a child and her sister a teenager… she believed that it was the main reason why Bedelia became a psychiatrist in the end. “Thank you for your help”.

“No problem,” Alice smiled, “I’m gonna go take a shower now…”

“Of course,” she returned the smile, letting her go.

The white robe Alice was wearing was inevitably stained with blood, she was quite a dreadful show now.

* * *

 Alice heard noises inside her room, when she opened the door, a peculiar view appeared before her eyes.

All the dolls were on the ground, their faces smashed. The culprit was the doll that sometimes talked to her – but she hadn’t heard from her in more than a week.

“Hey! Stop that!” she said, closing the door behind her. “I like those dolls!”

“I don’t give a shit what you like, Barbie!” the doll replied in a harsh tone.

She didn’t like that hallucination. “Rabbit, do something!” Alice demanded and the doll stopped for a second.

“God, you’re fucking weird, you know? All these witches-bitches are ridiculous, but you are as crazy as shit” she said and continued to throw dolls to the ground.

Alice was surprised. “Rabbit, do something!” she repeated.

_I can’t, Alice… she’s not in here._

The doll scuffed, bored. “Who the fuck are you talking to, Barbie? A ghost?” then she laughed, before she smashed the face of another doll.


	13. 50 shades of blonde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I got so many positive reviews and kudos that I added anoter sex scene, and then I did a bad thing.  
> I love you tho.

“How did you get this?” Bedelia asked Alice, brushing her fingertips over an old scar the girl had on her upper back.

The light coming through the window was soft and cold, it was very early in the morning and possibly the whole Coven was still asleep.

Alice was laying on Bedelia’s bed, her bare back was turned towards her new lover – when she spoke, she seemed half asleep. “A man stabbed me during one of the Hatter’s tea parties” she replied, holding back a yawn.

The scar was right above her left shoulder blade, it was light pink and swollen. “He missed your lung by a mere inch” Bedelia observed, in a gentle tone.

“Lucky me,” Alice laughed, rolling onto her side and stretching her arms, groaning softly – now she was facing Bedelia. “I don’t remember much anyways” Alice said, bringing her right arm under her head and using it as a pillow. “I’ve got other scars, sometimes I just forget about them… as if they’re not mine”.

Alice noticed Bedelia’s eyes looking at her left arm – she extended it, allowing Bedelia to examine her milky skin. There was a long, slender, vertical white line that started at the base of her forearm and went up to her shoulder. It was almost completely faded.

“One of the patients at the mental hospital attacked me with a bobby pin” she said, her smile was a mask, she still had nightmares about that day.

“A patient did that to you with a _bobby pin_?” Bedelia sounded astonished.

“You’d be  surprised to know how many things we’ve learnt to do using simple things. This woman, Jean, was a schizophrenic and one day she decided that I was an alien abductee and that I had an implant inside my arm… so she decided to take it out…” Alice shrugged rubbing her shoulder, nervously. “I guess she wanted to do me a favour”.

Alice sat up, against the headboard and she brought her knees to her chest.

“Personally,” she started and she showed Bedelia a tiny white scar that she had right on her left heel, “this one is my favourite. It reminds me of the good times” she smiled, this time a genuine smile.

“I suppose you want to tell me how you got that scar,” Bedelia’s lips curled in a small smile – Alice knew she was a bit high, but not too much… she had injected her whatever-shit-was-that into her vein more than two hours before.

Alice nodded, hugging her legs and resting her head on her knees – her head turned towards Bedelia. “I was on the roof of the building the Hatter and I used to live in,” she started, her voice soft and her eyes sparkled with nostalgia, “I think I was the Cat… she’s always been the _curiouser_ one” Alice laughed, laying down again and rolling onto her back. “She once convinced me to drink from a bottle of detergent because she was so sure it had ‘drink me’ written on it” with an amused giggle, Alice’s gaze went towards the ceiling. “Anyways, she went to the roof and it was so beautiful. It was chilly and windy and it was very late, there were millions of tiny sparkling lights all around us” Alice sighed with satisfaction, the memory was so wonderful, it made her feel like she was on that roof again.

“Why was she on the roof?” Bedelia asked, Alice sensed her lay down beside her, she turned towards her when she felt Bedelia’s arm wrap around her waist.

Alice smiled at her, “She believed we could fly, but I didn’t. So she decided to show me” she saw Bedelia’s eyes flash with panic for a brief second. It was cute… she pushed herself forward, placing a light kiss on the corner of Bedelia’s lips – right on the top of her beauty mark. “I was standing on the roof ledge with my arms open and in that moment I really believed I could fly… the Hatter gave me some mushrooms before, so it wasn’t just the Cat, I guess…” Alice giggled again, as she brushed a strand of Bedelia’s blonde hair from her cheek.

“What stopped you?” Bedelia asked, looking into her eyes with a serious look.

Alice looked down, she bit her lower lip. “The Rabbit – he, he hopped all around me and he asked me to follow him back into our rabbit hole” she sighed sadly. She really wanted to fly, but she couldn’t say no to the Rabbit at the time. “When I jumped on the floor again, my dress got stuck and I fell; my foot hit a protruding concrete slab _really hard_ and I—” Alice laughed, shaking her head lightly, “I did see the stars… I couldn’t walk for two days, I stayed on that roof – out in the cold, bleeding – for about two hours before the Hatter found me”.

“How is that a good memory?” Bedelia asked, genuinely confused.

Alice shrugged, “I don’t know… but it is” she reached for Bedelia’s right hand and she passed her thumb across her wrist. “Stop blabbering about my scars now, what about this?” Alice smiled, and Bedelia rolled her eyes, taking her hand back and looking at her own wrist, where a little word was written with black ink on her skin.

“It’s just a mistake I did as a teenager, nothing else” Bedelia sighed – Alice didn’t know anything about her childhood and her teenage years. She didn’t even know much about her life before the Coven, actually.

“Come on,” Alice insisted, poking at Bedelia’s hip. “Sharing is caring…” she said, in a childish whine.

Bedelia shook her head, leaning forward to capture Alice’s lips in a kiss – clearly to divert the girl’s attention.

Bedelia’s plan worked perfectly, as they now found themselves on top of each other – in a tangled mess of sheets. Alice giggled like an excited schoolgirl. She’d never thought of herself in that way before.

It was still early morning, She didn’t have to get up for an hour or so – Alice didn’t want to leave Bedelia’s bed anyway.

They kept kissing, their lips still slightly bruised after the night before. Alice had found out that inside her bedroom, Bedelia wasn’t the calm and composed person she was outside of it.

She felt Bedelia’s hand caressing her back, brushing her fingertips over her skin, tickling her almost cruelly. She ran her hand though Alice’s golden hair, pulling her closer – deepening the kiss.

Alice opened her lips, allowing Bedelia’s tongue to enter her mouth. She moaned into the kiss, closing her eyes and pushing herself into Bedelia’s naked body.

Before meeting Bedelia, Alice had never wanted to be intimate with another human being – female or male – and she found the whole situation curious. She had never enjoyed being with those men that she had to kill for the Hatter… she did those things just because the Hatter asked her to.

No one was asking her to be with Bedelia now, she was with her because she wanted to be and it was new. It felt good, being in control of her own body…

Bedelia broke the kiss, moving her lips to Alice’s neck – apparently the rule ‘no marks’ was one-sided. Alice’s soft and white skin was a mess of bruises and bite marks. Not that she minded, the collar of her uniform did a perfect job at hiding everything.

As Bedelia dragged her nails across Alice’s thighs, she left a red trail of marks – that faded almost immediately to light pink on the girl’s tender skin. Her hands stopped when they reached Alice’s knees and she took a firm grip on her flesh, pulling Alice towards herself, forcing her to straddle her face – the girl almost lost her balance before resting her palms against the headboard.

Alice let her head fall back – the tips of her hair tickled her lower back – when she felt Bedelia’s lips closing around her. She pressed her legs against Bedelia’s head unintentionally, but she didn’t seem to notice. She was holding her tight, her hands placed on both of Alice’s thighs.

Another loud moan left Alice’s lips as Bedelia’s mouth was devouring her, bringing her closer to the edge with every passing second. She didn’t want to make a noise, but she couldn’t help it.

One of Bedelia’s hands left her place on Alice’s thigh so that she could touch herself and get a little relief, for her own needs. She groaned whilst touching Alice’s skin, sending vibrations through her mouth; that pushed Alice over the edge, as she came, she bit her lips and clenched her fists in effort to remain silent.

When she had calmed down, she lay down next to Bedelia, replacing her hand with her own and accompanying her to orgasm, placing gentle kisses on her neck and shoulder.

Alice didn’t know why, but the silence that always followed her encounters was never awkward. She had completely forgot about the tattoo on Bedelia’s wrist, she was too busy trying to recover her breath now.

Bedelia took a look at the clock, deciding that she could still lay in bed for a while.

“I should talk to my sister,” she said minutes later, her voice a bit concerned.

Three days had passed since Jennifer’s death and Cordelia had locked herself in her room, she only came out during the meals. “The girls said that she blames herself for what’s happening, is it true?” Alice asked, rolling onto her stomach and bending her knees, wiggling her feet.

Bedelia sighed deeply, sitting up against the headboard – she reached for an old brush on her bedside table and she started brushing her hair extremely carefully. “Yes,” she confirmed, “Cordelia believes that she condemned the wrong person”.

“But she saw Kim killing Andy!” Alice started rolling on the bed, childishly – entwining herself into the covers.

Bedelia’s eyes were on her, she stopped for a moment; her lips curled into a small smile before returning to brush her hair. “She’s trying to figure out if someone had altered her vision” she simply replied.

“What if no one did? What if what she saw was right but Kim wasn’t lying?”

Bedelia stopped again, and this time she put the brush down. “What do you mean?” she asked, puzzled.

Alice sat beside her, crossing her legs. “What if Kim was like me? And also Jennifer?” she started, but Bedelia was still clueless. “I mean, what if a voice in their head told them what to do… like my Rabbit – but, personally, I think the bitchy doll did it”.

“Doll? What doll?” Bedelia’s voice sounded worried, Alice didn’t know why.

“The one I talked you about,” she replied, “during our first session”.

She was pretty high at that time, she probably didn’t remember a thing.

Alice shrugged. “It makes sense to me,” she said, “I thought she was in my head but the Rabbit told me she’s not, so maybe she is in someone else’s head”.

Bedelia’s eyes were wide with fear and Alice didn’t like it one bit. “You were talking to a doll and the Rabbit told you that it wasn’t in your head?” she asked.

Alice nodded. “Yes, I— I thought it wasn’t important” now she felt like she did something wrong.

“When was the first time you talked to the doll? And the last?” Bedelia asked.

“I don’t know… the last time was right after Jennifer’s death, and the first… I don’t remember, few days after we arrived, I guess” she replied, trying hard to remember.

“Before Andy’s death?”

Alice  nodded again. “You think I’m right? You think the doll did it?”

“I—” Bedelia stuttered, “it’s a possibility” she said. “It could be a supernatural presence”.

“Like a ghost? Or a poltergeist? Or a demon?” Alice sounded excited, but Bedelia was scared – she had never seen her scared.

“Maybe,” she said as she placed her leg over the rim of the bed, leaning forward and reaching for it in order to reattach it. “I want you to put your clothes back on immediately” she demanded.

“Why?” Alice whined, she wanted to stay in bed a little longer.

“You have to tell my sister what you’ve just told me, it might be nothing but it also might be everything” she had a few problems getting dressed, so Alice helped her.

She started looking for her clothes, they were on the floor and she had to retrieve her underwear from under the bed. “But why would a ghost be interested in killing Andy?”

“Maybe Andy wasn’t the problem, she just got in its way” Bedelia said, getting up. “Andy could read minds and maybe she heard something she shouldn’t have” she explained, that sounded right to Alice.

“So… the ghost took Jennifer and attacked Zoe?” Alice asked, still a bit confused.

Bedelia limped across the room to reach for her cane, while Alice was still putting her clothes on. “Perhaps,” she said, “I don’t want to jump to the wrong conclusion, but my sister told me that Andy told her about a doll the morning of the day she died…”

“Oh—” Alice felt herself more confused than ever, but she didn’t like the way Bedelia was acting. “I’m sorry… I should have told you before”.

“You did,” Bedelia said, with a tired voice – was she mad at her? “but I was too self-centred to listen”.

“You mean _stoned_ ,” Alice corrected her, with a smirk.

“It’s for medic—” Bedelia started, but she stopped and sighed, “I don’t have to apologise to you”.

Alice was about to reply, when the door opened. She turned to the intruder, “No one taught you to kn—” she stopped when she realised it was Christina. “Hey… what are you doing here? Am I late?” she asked, a little embarrassed. She hadn’t told anybody about her and Bedelia.

Something was wrong, she noticed  as Christina didn’t reply. She stumbled into the room, she couldn’t walk straight. She bumped her shoulder into the doorframe, she looked drunk.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but could you _please_ get out of my room?” Bedelia asked, with anger in her voice.

Christina didn’t blink, she launched herself at Alice, lifting her right arm – only then did she notice the big knife that she was holding.

“What are you doing?” she screamed, grabbing both of her wrists. She heard Bedelia gasping behind her, Alice had no idea what was going on. “Christina!” she yelled at her, but her friend looked like she was sleepwalking.

Alice tried to push Christina away, but the other girl was stronger than she had expected and she pushed back, this time waving the knife in front of her face. A silver light flashed before her eyes, missing her by a mere whisker.

Alice pushed her again, this time Christina’s body was lifted by a powerful force that clearly wasn’t caused by her. She started floating in the air, her arms were moving by themselves – she looked like a human puppet. Her head fell back, her dark hair was floating all around her.

She attacked Alice again, trying to stab her; but Bedelia grabbed Alice by the waist and pushed her behind her.

Both women were unable to speak a word. Alice felt her heart racing, what was happening to her friend?

Christina lifted her hand and in a blink of an eye, Bedelia flew to the other side of the room with a groan. She landed on her mirror, and it crushed under her weight.

* * *

Bedelia lifted a hand to the back of her head, she was bleeding lightly. Her view doubled and she felt a painful pounding where her hand was.

It was clear to her that the _thing_ inside the room was only controlling Christina’s body. She tried to get up but she couldn’t. “Alice,” she called – there was a gun in the drawer of her bedside table, she was about to tell her, but Christina pushed Alice against a wall – grabbing her by the neck and lifting the blade to her throat.

Bedelia’s heart skipped a beat, she tried to get up again, but her leg was hurting really bad and she realised that blood was coming out of her hip. That didn’t hurt, but she noticed a big mirror shard right under her ribcage. She rested her head against the wall, trying not to close her eyes. “Help!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping for someone to hear her. Screaming hurt more than she wanted to admit; she placed a hand on her bleeding wound.

The force that was controlling Christina wasn’t very coordinated, Alice had the time to push her back once again – this time she stole the knife from her hands and she kicked her in the stomach.

Christina stumbled back and fell to the ground, Alice straddle her holding up the knife. Bedelia saw the hesitation in her eyes, she had killed so many people but she didn’t want to kill her friend. She couldn’t.

Christina placed her hands on Alice’s chest and she was pulled by the same force back to the wall, she groaned in pain, the knife still in her hand.

Her hands were on Alice’s throat again, this time strangling her with more strength; Alice was gasping and trying hard to breath.

“Please…” she begged, but Christina didn’t blink. “ _Rabbit, please_!” she pleaded again, and Bedelia understood that she wasn’t asking for her friend to let her go, she was begging for her best friend to help her kill her, since she couldn’t do it alone.

Bedelia could see the change in her eyes, when Alice was no longer Alice and she became the Rabbit.


	14. Here comes Captain Howdy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Cordelia decides to do something...

The blade cut the air, and Christina stumbled back. Bedelia watched horrified as a strong flow of blood was sprayed in Alice’s face.

Christina clenched her throat with both hands, the blade Alice was holding fall to the ground as she let it go and pressed herself against the wall.

A gurgling sound filled the air, and Christina died drowning in her own blood as her eyes rolled back in her skull.

Still shocked, Bedelia couldn’t take her eyes off Alice – she didn’t know if she was going to be her next victim. Her heartbeat was so fast she believed for a moment that her heart would just explode.

She eyed her bedside table – it was way too far from where she was. She couldn’t stand up, she couldn’t fight back or defend herself… if it was Alice’s intention to kill her, she could have done it without any effort.

But Bedelia didn’t survive Hannibal Lecter and his reckless _bride_ just to be killed by her latest mistake. No, she deserved a better ending. She could have used one of the glass shards to stab Alice – she didn’t have to kill her, just stop her from killing her.

With a painful groan, she tried to get up one more time – ending up bleeding more profusely. The room spun around her, and she tried to open her eyes. Christina’s body was on the floor, a large pool of blood was expanding underneath her, gushing from her open throat.

Alice was trembling, Bedelia didn’t know if she was Alice or the Rabbit – or whoever else was in her head – but her body was shaking like a leaf. The knife was no longer in her hand; it lay on the ground, now surrounded by blood.

Bedelia tried to focus on Alice’s facial expression; the girl’s eyes were wide, she was breathing through her nose and she was sweating. She was covered in Christina’s blood – her face, her hands, even her hair…

She was shocked – even more than Bedelia, perhaps. Bedelia knew that she was supposed to help her now that it was clear that Alice didn’t intend to harm anybody else, but the truth was that she couldn’t speak a word.

Noises started to come from upstairs; Alice lifted her eyes towards the ceiling, then to Christina’s body again and finally to her bloody, shaky hands. After few seconds, it seemed to Bedelia that Alice’s brain had simply shut down. She lowered her hands and lifted her head, her stare was lost, somewhere else. Her breathing was normal now, her eyes looked dead, like Christina’s.

Bedelia rested her head against the wall and took a deep breath, it was over for now. She survived again, but at what cost? Had she just lost Alice for good? She seemed catatonic. Maybe she wasn’t another of her mistakes, maybe she was just another failure to add to her list. Bedelia didn’t know which one was worst.

* * *

Cordelia entered the bedroom tiptoeing; Alice and Bedelia were inside the room. Her sister was sitting in an armchair in front of the bed – her legs crossed, her back straight, in a regal posture.

Alice was lying in bed, under the covers – her back was resting against the headboard, and she was awake, but she seemed miles far away. Her head was slightly crooked to one side and her glare was blank. She looked like she was lost in her own thoughts.

“She’s been in this catatonic state for four hours,” her sister said, without taking her eyes off Alice. “She’s not herself at the moment,” she said in the same monotone voice, “she claims to be the Queen. I believe she consider herself too highborn to speak to me, or to any other human being” Bedelia sighed tiredly, she seemed absolutely exhausted. “This personality came out after the tremendous shock of killing her friend, and I think she has completely overwhelmed Alice in an overly protective way”.

The Supreme joined her hands in her lap, standing beside her sister with her head turned towards the girl in the bed. Alice didn’t seem to have acknowledge of her presence in the room. “How do you feel?” she asked, looking back at Bedelia.

“I’m fine,” she answered, shifting in her seat and placing a hand right above her hip – where the wound was.

Bedelia had wanted to treat herself, but Cordelia gave her a potion to help with the pain and the recovery anyway. Her sister was so stubborn, sometimes – just like their mother.

“I’m going to burn some protective incense with the girls,” Cordelia said, trying not to let her sister understand how concerned she actually was, “I’m going to run a séance later tonight, if you want to join us, Bedelia, be my guest”.

If a ghost was hunting her Coven, Cordelia would have to find out who it was and send them back to hell, where they belonged. Possessing her girl’s bodies, hurting them… forcing them to kill other people. She was sick of it…

When Bedelia didn’t reply, or seem intent on doing so, Cordelia sighed loudly. “Is there anything that I can do for you, sister?”

“Actually,” Bedelia replied with a tired voice, “there is one thing” she reached for a piece of paper next to her, on the short table in front of the armchair. She handed it to her, and Cordelia took it with a perplexed look. “It’s a prescription,” Bedelia explained, “it’s for Alice. She’s too deep into her mind for me to reach her, she needs her medication”.

Cordelia read the words quickly written on the paper – antipsychotic drugs, mostly – she recognised her sister’s handwriting, but not her name… “Du Maurier?”

Bedelia turned up her nose, crossing her arms. “You’ve pronounced it wrong, but yes – I had to change my name when I left…”

It wasn’t the right time to discuss that, Cordelia decided – so she nodded, “I’ll ask someone to purchase this medicine, Bedelia, but please…” she stopped, not sure how to go on, her sister turned her head towards her – waiting for her to continue, “be careful, don’t get too close to Alice, I have a strange vibe from her” she usually wouldn’t have talked like this in front of the individual concerned, but Alice was like an invisible presence at the moment.

Cordelia wasn’t sure what she was asking her sister to be aware of; she was having mixed feelings about Alice. She sure wasn’t the problem there, the poor girl was just messed up – but she believed that her sister was enough 0f a mess for herself, she didn’t need Alice’s burden to bear on her shoulders too. But apparently Bedelia didn’t agree with her.

Her sister smiled, a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Thank you, Delia. I will keep your words in mind”.

That was just a nice way to tell her that she wasn’t needed any longer, so she nodded and glanced at her sister and Alice one last time before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

“You’re not dangerous, Alice,” Bedelia said looking into her eyes, “but someone inside your head is and you have to control them”.

Alice’s look was even more lost now, Bedelia was starting to worry. What if she had actually lost her?

“Alice?” she called for her, hoping for some kind of response, but nothing happened. “Alice, I just want to tell you that what you did before saved both of our lives… you did a good thing, you don’t have to feel guilty”.

After a moment, Alice spoke again. Her voice was harsh, she had that British accent again. “I’m sorry,” she said, “Alice is not here, at the moment”.

Bedelia knew that… she had spoken to ‘the Queen’ before, but she hoped that Alice was still somewhere in there, hiding in her own mind – too afraid to face the consequences of her actions.

“Can you please let her know that she is not responsible for Christina’s death?” Bedelia asked in a soft tone. She didn’t know how to approach that personality, she didn’t want to make any other mistakes.

The Queen breathed slowly, she averted her eyes and stared at the window. “Alice defended herself from the attack of the Jabberwock, she knows that” she said, then she fell silent again.

_Does this woman really believe her own words, my dear?_

_I think she does, Your Grace, but please don’t say anything rude to her… she’s trying to help me._

_You don’t need her help, Alice. I’m here to protect you._

_I know, Your Grace, but I can’t hide in here forever._

_Of course you can, my dear. You will be fine here, no one will ever hurt you._

_I miss the Rabbit, Your Grace… can I play with him for a while?_

_No, Alice. The Rabbit and all those poor lunatics are very much good where they are now._

_You can’t just lock them away… they’re us._

_They are not_ me, _Alice. I am the Queen and no one else._

_But I am you… and you are me… and I’m also the Rabbit, and the Hare…_

_Nonsense, my dear. You are your own person as I am. Who told you these silly lies?_

_Bedelia… she said—_

_You really believe her? Don’t trust this woman, Alice. You have to trust me. I am here to protect you._

_I know, Your Grace… I trust you. But I don’t like when it’s just you and me._

_There’s nothing wrong in being just you and me, my dear. Enjoy the silence, Alice._

_It’s scary when you’re around, Your Grace… it’s when Mom and Dad get mad at me…_

_Your parents are not here, Alice. No one will get mad at you now. Just rest, my dear. I will take care of your silly little mind._

_I think we should talk to Bedelia, she’s worried about us._

_She is just a human being, Alice. We are so much more, you my sweet child are a miracle. She doesn’t deserve our time. No one deserves our time._

_But we can’t just alienate the rest of the world, Your Grace!_

_Of course we can, Alice. Don’t make me regret the decision of letting you out._

_Please, Your Grace, I want to talk to Bedelia now._

_You ungrateful, selfish child! The only thing I care about is you and you thank me in this way? Go now! With the others, in the cage. Don’t make me tie you up to a bed like the last time._

_No, please… Your Grace, please don’t! I’ll be good, I won’t talk to anybody, I promise!_

_Shush, now… Alice. Go in your cage, with the other animals. I’ll let you out when you have learnt your lesson._

_Welcome back, Alice. It’s been so long since that crazy Queen had taken control over us, uh?_

_Oh, Rabbit… please do something._

_I can’t, she’s too strong. I’m sorry Alice, I’d be glad to take her head off, if I could._

_Why can’t we just kill her? And then we can play?_

_Hare, we can’t. She’s us…_

_I’d suggest we kidnap the Queen and enclose her in this cage forever._

_Turtle, that’s not possible!_

_Why not, Alice? It’s what she does with us every time she’s out._

_Because the Rabbit is right, Cat… she’s too strong. Where’s Mr. Mouse?_

_He’s nowhere to be found. The Queen scared him to death, I don’t think we’ll see him anytime soon._

* * *

Cordelia was in the greenhouse; she was holding a glass cruet to her chest – one hand was covering its opening and she was whispering a protective spell with her eyes closed.

Inside the cruet, there was a thin, black powder that she purred on the top of a bunch of incense sticks.

Something was boiling in a copper pot; she dipped her fingers in the hot brownish liquid – ignoring the pain – and she drew voluptuous lines on the table, in front of the incense.

She put the sticks in a wicker basket, and she left – heading towards the house.

The girls were waiting in the main living room, a deathly silence welcomed the Supreme. Cordelia shared the incense with her Coven, then she closed her eyes.

She focused on every single girl in the room and the incense sticks they were holding caught fire for a brief second – then their intense smell filled the air.

“You know what to do” Cordelia said, in a serious tone, as she left and headed to the kitchen, holding up her own incense stick. The girls spread around the house, muttering words in Latin, carefully entering every single room.

That night, Cordelia had decided to talk to the spirit who was hunting her Academy, her home… the house had to be purified and protected, so that the spirit would feel the power of the Coven.

Once she had defined the entity of the spirit, she would have to decide how to proceed.

Right after sunset, Queenie and Zoe were at her side, in the Ancestor Room. Bedelia was sitting on a sofa, her legs and arms crossed. According to her sister, Alice was feeling a bit better thanks to the pills she brought her, but she was still in bed, recovering.

Karen and Samantha were with the children, Cordelia didn’t want them to attend the séance. Kyle was guarding Alice’s door – just in case something were to happen.

The intense smell of incense was still in the room, the smoke was wafting in the air, condensing against the ceiling.

A small round table had been placed in the centre of the room, two candles were on the top of it – one was black and one was white.

A Ouija board was in front of the three of them; Zoe turned her head towards Cordelia and when she nodded, Zoe placed both palms on the top of the candles – lighting them.

Queenie placed a shot glass on the board, upside-down. “Let’s get this party started”, she said with a sarcastic tone.

Cordelia, Zoe and Queenie joined their hands at the top of the table and they started whispering an old Latin spell.

When nothing happened, Cordelia – with her eyes closed – squeezed Queenie’s hand. “Close your eyes, Queenie” she demanded and the girl snorted, but she did as she was told.

They started again, and this time the candles fire flickered for a second; all the windows were closed, the three witches kept muttering their spell. When a powerful gust of wind pushed the candles to the ground, Zoe tried to retract her hand – but Cordelia tightened the grip on her. “Focus, girls” the Supreme ordered, with an authoritarian tone.

There was still a dim light in the room, coming from the chandeliers adjacent to the walls. A shiver ran through Cordelia’s spine and when it was gone – she broke the circle of hands and she placed her fingertips on the top of the glass.

Before she could ask anything to the spirit, a porcelain vase exploded into a million pieces – some of the girls in the room screamed.

“Don’t panic,” she said in a calm voice, “it’s all fine, nothing can hurt you now”.

One of the paintings on the wall fell down, and then another, and another one. The girls panicked again.

“All right!” Cordelia said aloud, she was starting to get really mad. “If you have something to tell us, use the board!”

There was a moment of silence, Cordelia could hear the girls breathing. She saw her sister, who seemed quite relaxed, and not impressed at all. She then exchanged a look with Queenie and Zoe – they were a bit nervous, but they were trying to keep cool.

The glass under Cordelia’s fingers moved so fast that it escaped her grip. It stopped on the letter F; quickly, it moved again, spelling:

F-U-C-K-Y-O-U

“Nice,” Queenie commented, “I already hate this son of a bitch”.

Cordelia put a hand on Queenie’s shoulder, then she spoke addressing the ceiling. “All we want to know is the reason why you are doing this”.

The glass moved:

F-U-N

Queenie scoffed, she turned her head towards Cordelia. “Can’t we just kill this bastard Ghostbusters-style?” she seemed pretty bothered by the whole situation.

The Supreme shook her head. “No, it’s not that easy… I don’t want to do anything before I know who I am dealing with”.

Zoe placed both hands on the glass, ignoring the two witches beside her. “What’s so fun in killing other people? Why did you attack me?” she gasped when the glass moved under her fingers.

It spelled:

I-M-B-O-R-E-D-A-S-S-H-I-T

Another vase exploded and Zoe took a deep breath, “Okay then, reveal yourself. Who are you?” she tried to reach for the glass one more time, but it quickly moved again, starting to spell:

H-O-W-S-B-O-Y-C-A-N-D-Y

“Shit!” Zoe muttered, taking a step back and Cordelia turned to her with an apprehensive look in her eyes.

The girls were starting to get nervous again. “What?” Cordelia asked, Zoe was staring at the Ouija board with wide eyes.

When she spoke, she didn’t avert her gaze. “It’s Madison”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo tell me, was it so obvious? XD   
> I really hope not. :)


	15. Practical magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cordelia is quite pissed, Alice is still shocked, Bedelia is done af.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from the DoubleDelia's POV - Alice's POV is coming back soon ^_^

It was unbelievable; Cordelia thought as she threw a wax ball into a pot. It splashed into the already melted wax inside, hardening instantly as it made contact with the cold air on the counter.

“Easy there, Morgana” Queenie laughed, from behind her, “we don’t want to burn your precious greenhouse down, do we?”

Cordelia was incredibly angry – she started stirring the wax inside the pot with a wooden spoon. “Morgana was a fairy” she corrected Queenie, breathing through her nose. “You’re supposed to know that”.

“Okay, fine” Queenie threw her hands in the air, turning towards Zoe, “you deal with our bitchy Supreme from now on”.

Zoe cleared her throat, stepping forward – approaching Cordelia. “We’re all upset here, Delia” she said, calmly. “Queenie and I— we just want to know what’s going on and why you don’t want to tell us what you’re doing”.

Cordelia sighed loudly; she put the wooden spoon down and covered her forehead with her hand. “I’m sorry,” she said – and Zoe turned her head towards Queenie, with a smug smile on her lips, the other witch mouthed a ‘fuck you’ before Zoe turned her head back to the Supreme. “I’m—” she started, she didn’t even know where to begin, “I’m melting some wax to prepare some candles, we’re going to need seven of them”.

“We’ve got plenty of candles” Queenie stated. “We’re covered in candles, why do you need to make new ones?” she asked, approaching the counter and the pot, sniffing the liquid wax and jerking back immediately. “My God, why does this wax smell like shit?”

“Because there’s powder of dried Titan Arum, inside the wax,” Cordelia explained, “also known as one of the Corps Flowers. I need these candles to do a very specific job, girls. Take notes”.

“We’re not in school anymore, Delia” Zoe whined – she was tired of being considered a young witch, but Cordelia shook her head.

“You never stop learning, Zoe” she insisted, adding some chopped holly leaf to the pot. “This will hide the smell” she said.

“Why are you making these candles?” Queenie tried again, this time Cordelia was more cooperative.

“Because I want to cast a spell tomorrow morning, and these candles will be essential” she explained. “I want to open a portal between the world of the spirits and our own, but I don’t want to risk any other jailbreak. These candles will be our insurance”.

“You want to open a _what_?” Zoe looked astonished. “Isn’t this the kind of idea that leads us from bad to worse?” she asked, carefully “I don’t want to end up fighting zombies… _again_ ”.

“I want to get rid of Madison Montgomery for good,” she said, picking up the pot and pouring the hot liquid into seven bowls, putting a candle wick inside of each one.  She had intertwined the wool threads that morning, when she was still furious – so some of them weren’t perfect, but they were okay and okay was all that she needed.

Madison wasn’t an old spirit – she was a young, spoiled, angry ghost. She had no idea why she was still here; she didn’t care.

Cordelia wanted to exile that bitch to hell for good; she had already damaged her Coven enough. Maybe Madison was mad at her, or at Zoe, or at the whole world… she couldn’t care less. She wasn’t going to mess with her home and her family ever again.

Everything was clear now, she thought. Kim’s room used to be Madison’s and the attic where the dolls were, was the place she was hidden as a corpse… she was attached to those places, it was much easier for her to use them.

Andy must have heard her in some way, and when she tried to warn her, the poor girl got herself killed. Cordelia couldn’t stand it. She was boiling over with anger again.

Jennifer was Kim’s best friend and she slept in her room after she died and Christina… probably Madison needed a weak body to use as an emergency… a simple girl was easier to control than a young witch.

Cordelia hated to feel that way, she couldn’t stop it, though.

“I’m going to need something from each person who has been in contact with Madison and her vessels” she said, trying to focus on her spell. “A strand of hair, a nail, blood… anything” she added, when she received no answers. “That includes you too Zoe, also Kyle, my sister and Alice”.

Queenie laughed, “Those two are probably fucking right now, I’ll go and ask for some hair later” she said, but she immediately regretted her words, when she found her lips painfully sewn together. She muffled something in panic.

“That’s my sister you’re talking about, young girl!” Cordelia scolded her, waving a hand in her general direction and Queenie’s lips went back to normal, the girl sighed. “Apologise”.

“I’m sorry, Delia” Queenie said, with a bored look, “Do I have to go now?” she whined.

Cordelia nodded, “Yes, tell my sister to come here. Alice still needs to rest” she said, but before Queenie could leave, she added: “Let’s meet tonight after sunset, in the backyard”.

“Why?” Zoe asked, as Cordelia picked up a pair of scissors to cut her hair.

“We have to dig out some corpses,” Cordelia explained and both girls didn’t seem very happy at the idea of doing so. “As I said,” Cordelia continued, “I need something from each person who’s been in contact with Madison. That includes her victims and I’m going to need something from Madison herself”.

“Awesome” Zoe commented, in a flat tone.

* * *

Bedelia was walking slowly, headed towards Alice’s new room – on the first floor. She was getting better at climbing the stairs, she noticed.

She stopped with surprise, when she saw that Kyle wasn’t guarding the door as usual. The door was slightly ajar, and she didn’t blink twice before she decided to get closer, and see what was happening inside the room.

Bedelia wasn’t used to overhearing someone else’s conversations, but she was worried about Alice…

“Do you remember what she does?” Bedelia heard Alice’s voice asking, and she saw the girl was sitting on the floor – leg crossed – in front of a chessboard. Kyle was sitting at the other end of the board, he was holding something in his right hand.

“The Queen,” he said carefully, looking at the piece in his hand, “she does whatever she wants”.

Alice nodded with a big smile on her lips, and she took the White Queen from Kyle’s hands, handing him another piece. “What about this one?”

“The Rook” he said, “it moves left and right or back and forth… but no jumps” he handed the piece back to Alice.

Alice nodded again. “That’s perfect, Kyle… we could play sometimes!” she smiled, and the boy smiled back.

Bedelia decided it was a good moment to enter the room, she knocked lightly before pushing the door open. “Excuse me,” she said with a soft tone; Kyle jumped to his feet but Bedelia lifted a hand. “It’s okay, I just have to ask for something from you two” she lifted up the big pair of scissors she was holding and Alice’s eyes sparkled – she wasn’t sure why. “Cordelia asked me to collect a strand of hair from both of you” she explained.

Kyle didn’t ask questions, but he stretched his arm with his palm open – he was obviously asking for the scissors. Bedelia handed them to him and he carefully cut a tiny piece of hair.

“Thanks,” she said, putting the strand in a plastic bag she had taken out from the pocket in her pencil skirt. “Would you mind leaving us alone, please?” it wasn’t actually a question, and Kyle obeyed, lowering his head and leaving the room.

Bedelia noticed a hairless cat sit on Alice’s bed – she had never seen it before. “Who is it?” she asked Alice, without too much emphasis, she was simply curious.

“Cordelia’s cat,” she answered with a smile, “her name’s Bastet, I think she likes me. Why do you need a strand of my hair?” Alice asked, she seemed worried.

“Cordelia has to cast a powerful spell,” she simply said, “and we need something from whoever was in contact with the spirit that haunts the house”.

Bedelia gestured Alice to sit on the edge of the bed, and she climbed onto it, sitting right behind her. The cat got up and left, she heard it hissing at Kyle. She shifted Alice’s hair to one shoulder, carefully caressing it. Bedelia didn’t want to cut where it was noticeable.

“The Hatter used to cut a piece of hair from each victim” Alice said, still sounding worried. Bedelia smiled sadly at the words.

She placed a soft kiss at the base of her neck. “I will only need a tiny strand, no one will notice” she smiled again, more relaxed this time.

As Bedelia was selecting the hair that had to be cut, Alice started to hum to herself, and then to whisper a song.

Bedelia didn’t recognise it at first.

“ _Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!_

_How I wonder what you’re at!_

That’s what he always sung while chopping hair off,” she laughed lightly.

“Don’t move,” Bedelia muttered under her breath, she didn’t want to hurt her or cut too much.

Alice started to murmur her song again,

“ _Up above the world you fly,_

_Like a tea tray in the sky._

_Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!_

_How I wonder what you’re at!”_

Bedelia sighed, putting the scissors down. “Done,” she said, tiredly. Alice wasn’t quite herself yet… but she was getting better. She wasn’t sure she was Alice, actually. But she seemed happy, so it was enough for now.

“May I have the scissors now?” she asked, in a childish – and yet terrifying – tone. “Pretty please?” she smiled when Bedelia got up from the bed and extended her hand just like Kyle did before.

“No,” Bedelia answered curtly and Alice’s facial expression changed in the blink of an eye.

The smile disappeared, the corners of her mouth fell, her eyes seemed darker. “I want the scissors,” she said slowly.

“You need to rest, Alice” Bedelia sounded inflexible.

Alice’s voice lowered and she sounded like a different person now. “I’m going to kill her, if you don’t hand me those scissors. I just want to play”.

Bedelia sighed, as she believed – she wasn’t Alice at all. The medicine locked the Queen somewhere inside her mind, letting her out of her catatonic state… but she was still under shock, unable to control the alters. Bedelia was pretty sure she was the Hare now, but she couldn’t bet on it.

She had no idea how many negative personalities were inside her.

“Kyle,” Bedelia called, without taking her eyes off Alice, “tie her up to the bed” she demanded and the boy – who was still guarding the room – approached the bed. “Be careful,” Bedelia warned him, “she bites”.

“I’ll bite my own tongue,” Alice spitted when Kyle took a firm grip on her left wrist, lifting it to the headboard. Bedelia was prepared for this eventuality, she wasn’t surprised. “You’re hurting me!” she screamed – she sounded like Alice this time, she was doing it on purpose.

Bedelia didn’t flinch; she knew Alice was somewhere in there, watching helplessly and she wanted her to know that she knew what she was doing. Alice might not be in control, but she was.

“I’ll bite my own tongue,” she repeated, when she realised her words didn’t have any effect on the two people in the room, “she’ll drown in her own blood” she smirked proudly.

“Gag her” Bedelia simply ordered, a disgusted look on her face. She would have been pretty happy to kill whoever spoke those words, but she couldn’t do it without hurting Alice. They would have find a way together.

Bedelia left the room while Kyle was still leaning against Alice, she was screaming bloody murder but Bedelia pretended not to listen.

She joined her sister in the greenhouse, placing next to the new candles the items Cordelia required. She then proceeded to cut her own hair, adding the strand to the others. “I need to talk to you, Delia” she said, when her sister didn’t speak to her.

“Not now,” Cordelia whispered. She was concentrating intensely on doing something over a microscope – she was wearing gloves and she was handling some tweezers. “Can you pass me a twig of that ayahuasca, over there?” she asked, pointing somewhere on the table full of plant vases.

Bedelia followed Cordelia’s finger until she found what she was looking for. “Isn’t ayahuasca extremely hallucinogenic?” she asked, trying not to breath as she cut the twig with a big pair of shears.

Cordelia nodded, stepping back from the microscope and handing the plant Bedelia was holding with extreme care. “It is, but I need an infusion for tomorrow. This thing is going to open our minds”.

Bedelia thought that the last thing she needed to know was that her sister was growing a hallucinogenic plant inside her greenhouse. Alice would have loved it, she could bet on that…

“What exactly…” Bedelia followed her sister around the place, trying to understand what kind of potion she was preparing, “is going to happen tomorrow?”

She told her about the spell, but she really wanted her sister to be more specific.

“I’m going to open the passage between the world of the living and the world of the dead,” she answered. “I am going to rally the ghosts of the Coven, and they are going to drag Madison with them, then I’ll close the passage”.

“And you are sure it will be success, sister?” Bedelia asked, carefully.

“I am,” Cordelia replied immediately. “I am 75% sure of success” she added with a smile.

“Why are you doing this, Delia?” Bedelia asked, lowering her voice – reading past her sister’s smile. “Is it because you want to protect your Coven?” she was talking slowly now, trying to entering her sister’s mind without any powers. “Or is it because you want to make the ghost of that girl pay?”

“Isn’t it the same thing?” Cordelia asked, puzzled.

Bedelia didn’t answer immediately. She waited, weighting her words. “I believe that you are confusing who you are and who you are supposed to be”.

Cordelia stopped, placing both hands on her hips – she pursued her lips, in annoyance. “And who am I supposed to be, sister?”

“The Supreme Witch,” she answered in a very sedate voice, “you cannot allow your anger to drive you, Cordelia. What you have chosen to do, the way you have decided to act is…” she stopped, sighing and averting her eyes, “reckless… you’re putting all of us in great danger and you are acting like you’re going to a play date”.

“I know what I’m doing, Bedelia” her sister assured her, she could feel the anger in her words. “I know this is not a joke, and I know that what I’m doing is dangerous but I have to protect the Coven and in order to do so, I have to make risky decisions”.

“And opening a passage between two worlds is a risky decision, isn’t it?” she blurred, rolling her eyes and then turning her head towards her sister again. “I am not going down with you Delia, if all Hell breaks loose – and I mean literally – I won’t be there for you”.

“You’ve never been there for me!” she laughed hysterically. “You were my ‘big sister’ – I adored you, I looked for you every single time our mother left us alone, I wanted to be like you… and you left _me_ when I was eight, I haven’t heard from you in almost thirty years, you could have been dead…”

“Look at you now, and look at me now, Delia…” Bedelia’s voice was flat, her lips were curled in a bitter smile. “You’re the Supreme Witch and I am a drug addict, drunk, poor excuse of a psychiatrist who’s barley in control of her own life” she shook her head, heading towards the door. “Believe me, sister… you did just fine without me”.

That night, after sunset, she was out in the chilly June air. Kyle was digging into Madison’s grave. Two other graves had already been dug up – the air was heavy with the stinky smell of decomposing corpses and dirt.

They had collected a nail from Jennifer’s body, a bone  from Andy’s body and a strand of hair from Christina’s.

That evening, her sister took a few hairs from Kim’s brush – luckily, they still had a box with her things inside it.

Cordelia and Bedelia hadn’t spoken since that evening, but it wasn’t important.

Bedelia hoped it wasn’t her last night on earth…

As she turned towards the house, she eyed the second window on the first floor. The light was on and she spotted Alice beside the curtain – she was looking at them. Bedelia let Kyle untie her that evening, before dinner; she wondered if she was herself now.

Bedelia turned to the grave once again, the smell was almost unbearable.

Madison’s bones were covered with dirt – Cordelia knelt before the hole in the ground and she reached for her skull, but Zoe stopped her. “Take her middle fingers,” she suggested emotionless.

Queenie seemed delighted at the idea, “Can I do it?”

Cordelia stood up, nodding. “Help yourself,” she said and Queenie reached for the bones.

Bedelia felt completely emptied from any kind of emotions when she returned to her bedroom. She wanted to drink herself to sleep, and never wake up again. It was actually very easy to do… she could inject into her system a little too much of her sedative and the game was over.

But she was too stupid, and too curious to know what was going to happen in the morning to do such a thing. So she simply took her leg off and put herself to bed, pouring a generous amount of whiskey in a glass that she emptied a second later.

When she heard a knock at her door, she was tempted not to answer, but the door opened before she could make up her mind.

Alice was wearing her nightgown, she had her hair loose on her back and a pitiful look in her eyes. “Can I come in?” she asked.

“You’re already in my room, Alice” Bedelia said, no emotions leaked through her voice.

Alice stepped forward, closing the door behind her and she climbed onto the bed, under the covers before she hugged Bedelia, hiding her face in her chest. Bedelia breathed slowly, she seemed herself at the moment.

“I’m sorry about the Cat,” Alice mumbled against her skin, sending shivers through her spine.

What was she talking about? “Cordelia’s cat?” she asked, but Alice shook her head.

“The Cheshire Cat,” she explained, “this morning, she said a lot of bad things… she’s okay, usually. She was grumpy this morning, she just wants to play but if she can’t play… she gets really mad”.

“It’s okay, Alice” Bedelia whispered, lowering her head and brushing Alice’s hair with her lips. “Just try not to kill me while I’m asleep” she intended to say that as a joke, but she realised it sounded pretty serious. Bedelia brushed her fingers against Alice’s wrist and noticed the dark bruises from that evening.

“I promise,” Alice nodded, lifting her head and kissing Bedelia’s lips softly before resting her head against the Bedelia’s chest again.

After a while, Alice’s breathing became heavier. Bedelia still couldn’t sleep… she should have talked to her sister, there were a lot of things they had to discuss, before the following morning.

Bedelia sighed, when the door opened again. For a second she believed it had opened by itself, but then Bastet, Cordelia’s cat – apparently – entered the room silently. She hopped onto the bed, and she cuddled against Alice’s feet.

Bedelia hated sleeping with the door open, but she couldn’t stand up, so she breathed extremely slowly and she fixed her stare on the doorknob. She inhaled again, without blinking, and when she exhaled, closing her eyes – the door was pushed closed, and she heard a locking sound.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly want to know your opinion on Cordelia's decision.   
> Do you believe she will fuck everything up?


	16. Who you gonna call?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!  
> Oh- sorry, wrong film.

It was a cold June morning; Bedelia was standing in front of her bedroom window, looking detached as a bunch of children were leaving the house, waving their little hands at Cordelia. They all seemed to be very excited about their school trip.

Her sister was solemnly standing on the porch – in her Supreme attire, an elegant black dress and her ash blond hair neatly collected behind her shoulders. She smiled at the little girls, but when the last one jumped into the car that was parked in front of the black gate, the look on the Supreme’s face changed. Cordelia looked more resolute, her eyes were cold and firm – she seemed ready to put into action whatever her plan was.

The Supreme Witch turned her back to the garden, and entered the house. The door shut closed behind her.

Bedelia jumped in surprise when the hairless cat hopped onto the windowsill, meowing. She stood up on two legs, pushing her forelegs against the windows glass, meowing louder.

“She wants to go outside” Alice’s voice came from behind Bedelia and she opened the window, the cat jumped outside into the grass and ran towards a group of pigeons.  

Bedelia closed the window and left her place by it, she put a silky black robe on and turned her head towards Alice.

She was supine with a smile on her lips. Alice’s shoulders were behind the rim of the bed and her hair touched the floor. “I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night” she said, upside down. “Let me think…” she giggled, her cheeks were red, “was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’ Ah, that’s the great puzzle!” she laughed again.

Bedelia had the feeling she was quoting her favourite book, so she didn’t reply to her question. Instead, she slowly approached the bed – she was trying not to use her cane to walk, it was easier in her own bedroom – and she joined Alice, lifting her fake leg using both hands.

“How puzzling all these changes are! I’m never sure what I’m going to be, from one minute to another” she continued, her voice a bit distant. She didn’t seem to acknowledge Bedelia’s presence right next to her.

Alice had slept through the whole night, she mumbled in her sleep as usual… Bedelia didn’t recall the things she said.

She wasn’t Alice at the moment – Bedelia was sure of it, Alice didn’t quote _that_ much, and she sounded more British than usual. The Hare would have been much more aggressive, so it was probably the Cat. Bedelia noticed that the Cat’s presence had increased since the ‘Queen incident.

Those seemed to be the only two female alters inside Alice’s mind; maybe they were linked in some way. Alice was present sometimes, but most of the time she was the Cat. All the other personalities seemed to have been cast away.

“Get up,” Bedelia said, closing her fingers around Alice’s wrist and she hissed in pain, but Bedelia didn’t let go, “or your blood will go to your brain”.

Alice sat up quickly, and she rubbed her eyes, laughing as she did so. “I feel funny” she said, shaking her head. In the blink of an eye, Bedelia found herself trapped between the headboard and Alice’s body. “I’m happy now, let’s play” she said, pushing herself against Bedelia, rubbing her head against Bedelia’s neck.

Bedelia couldn’t help but feel a rush of heat running through her body, stopping between her legs. “I’ll be needed very soon, Alice” she breathed, trying to focus on anything else but the girl that was straddling her.

Alice whined, pushing herself even further into Bedelia’s body – their breasts pressed together causing a wave of heat that warmed Bedelia’s stomach. She moaned when Alice forced her tongue into her mouth, and she automatically wrapped her arms around Alice’s small body.

Alice stopped, as she took Bedelia’s hands in her own and she placed them on her ample breasts, inciting her to squeeze them. “I don’t care” she _purred_ into her ear, nibbling at her earlobe. She could feel her nipples hardening through the thin fabric of Alice’s nightgown. Bedelia couldn’t help but moan again, but it wasn’t right.

That girl tasted like Alice, smelled like Alice, but she _wasn’t_ Alice. God, she didn’t even know if Alice was consensual to all this.

“Get off me,” Bedelia said very calmly, letting her go but Alice took a firm hold on her hand and guided her between her legs, she noticed how wet she was – but once again it felt incredibly wrong. “I said _get off me_!” this time she half-spoke half-screamed, and Alice’s body was pushed against the mattress.

The girl laughed manically. “How did you do that?” she asked, she didn’t seem scared or bothered. She tried to move but realised she couldn’t, so she hissed at Bedelia. “Let me go!”

Bedelia rested her head against the headboard and breathed slowly, ignoring Alice’s voice. Her head was pounding painfully; she closed her eyes, still aroused.

Reaching out for a syringe of sedative, Bedelia didn’t notice that Alice got free, until she jumped on Bedelia again, this time with a completely different purpose. She cried in pain as she felt Alice’s nails digging inside the back of her neck – but she was quicker this time.

She hit her with her elbow, pushing her against the mattress again and stopping her from moving her head with her arm.

Alice tried to kick her away, but when she failed – she bit her hard, Bedelia could feel her teeth ripping her skin. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, ignoring the pain, as she pierced Alice’s neck with the needle and she injected a profuse amount of sedative into her vein.

* * *

The last member of the Coven arrived at the Academy, and Cordelia was ready to start. Her heart was racing, she was feeling sick and anxious.

“What I want you to do,” she begin with a solemn tone in her voice, “is to stay absolutely calm and quiet”.

Her girls were nervous, they were chattering and whispering. She needed to focus on her task; she needed to concentrate.

The curtains had been shut closed; there was a small altar in the centre of the room – the bowl with the hair and bones was placed on the top of it.

Cordelia was holding one of the candles, Zoe, Queenie, Bedelia and three teachers were holding the rest of them.

They all lit up together, and Cordelia nodded at Zoe. The girl handed her a big knife.

“When the passage opens,” Cordelia began, “keep your flame burning – don’t let it die for any reason” she talked very clearly and slowly. She had decided to spread the candles around the room because it was safer that way. “Don’t panic, don’t scream and don’t run away. The spirits can’t physically hurt you – they might try to communicate, if they do, just ignore them”.

The intense smell of protective incense was in the air, the house had been purified again – just to be sure. Cordelia didn’t want any surprises during the operation.

At her signal, Queenie turned off the lights so that the only light sources were the seven candles. Their flames projected grotesque shadows on the white walls and on the paintings. All the portraits in the room seemed to be come alive.

Cordelia knew that even the slightest mistake could have caused a great catastrophe. She didn’t want any other evil spirit to be on the loose in her house.  She breathed slowly as she lifted the big knife in front of her eyes.

Its blade reflected her concerned look, Cordelia tried to ignore the voice that was telling her to stop in the back of her head. She was the Supreme, she was supposed to protect the Coven at any cost – she was doing the right thing…

“I might lose consciousness, if I do – don’t come any close to me. If I act strange, don’t try to reason with me” she then turned towards Zoe and Queenie and whispered, “If that really happens, just put me down the way I showed you, okay?”

The girls nodded with an unflinching look, she trusted them with her life.

“Just try not to die on us” Zoe smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Cordelia smiled back, her mouth was dry. “I don’t count on dying today – but if it happens…” she started, but Queenie didn’t let her finish.

“We’ll have to find out who the next Supreme is, we know that. Just try not to die, okay?”

Cordelia nodded, looking down at the bowl with all the ingredients – well not _all_ of them. One was still missing.

She placed the knife on her left palm and she gripped the blade with her fingers, dragging it down slowly. Her lips twitched with pain, as blood started dripping from her hand.

Cordelia placed the blade down and Zoe picked it up, covering the blade with a cloth.

Cordelia could feel the power leaving her body while the blood poured into the bowl, covering all the other ingredients. Squeezing her left hand in the right one, she breathed deeply. “Do it now, Queenie” she demanded and the young witch lit a match and threw it into the bowl.

Its contents unnaturally took fire, as if the blood wasn’t blood but fuel.

As Cordelia started to mutter ancient spells under her breath, the lights of the candles flickered at the same time. She didn’t seem to notice, and kept whispering her spell.

Her hand was hurting, she was starting to feel dizzy. She was bleeding profusely and continuously, once the spell was completed, she threw her head back with closed eyes and breathed: “ _Papa Legba, open the gate for me_ ”.

A cold shiver ran through her spine and she opened her eyes again; clouds of condensed air were coming out from the mouths of those present. The witches were scared, she was calm but her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the silent presence of a man, in the corner of the room.

He was standing still, looking directly at her with his bright red eyes. She was one step closer to success, now came the hard part.

As Papa Legba approached her, walking silently, no one else seemed to notice him. Cordelia had no idea if it was a good sign or not.

He stopped right in front of her, lowering his gaze and studying the offer she had prepared for him.

He was terrifying, with his face painted in white and his sinister smile – the fact that he hadn’t spoken a word was even worse. He lifted the bowl, stepping back and he drank from it.

The moment Cordelia’s blood touched his lips, the lights flickered again.

A girl screamed and Cordelia turned her back to Papa Legba without thinking, at first she didn’t realise why she had screamed – then she saw it.

A dark ball of energy was floating near the ceiling, some girls were pointing at it.

Before Cordelia’s eyes, the ball started to change its shape. It became the figure of a girl, and after few seconds, she recognised Christina.

One by one, dozens of light balls started to appear and took form. Jennifer, Kim, Andy…

After a while she saw her mother, and she felt a lump in her throat; then it was Myrtle’s turn and then Misty’s. Cordelia couldn’t take it.

Ignoring the voices that were starting to fill the room, she turned to Papa Legba once again. “You are aware of my request,” she said in the firmest and most serious tone she could afford at the moment.

Papa Legba smiled again, his smile was dreadful. “I am,” he confirmed and his deep voice made Cordelia shiver with fear, “but there are rules I cannot ignore. One soul comes in, one soul comes out” he added.

The Supreme didn’t look surprised, but she cursed him with every fibre of her body. She couldn’t step back now.

“What do I have to do?” she asked, desperately trying to sound sure of herself. She realised her hands were shaking, but she blamed it on the wound on her left palm.

Papa Legba opened his arms, gesturing at the spirits that filled the room. “I will gladly welcome the soul of Madison Montgomery into my world, but you’ll have to pick one soul to replace her. Even Hell has its harmony and it can’t be broken”.

Cordelia couldn’t find the strength to talk. She knew her world wasn’t a nice place to live in as a human being or as a spirit, but she had to choose and she had to do it quickly.

* * *

The ghosts were all around them, Bedelia could hardly breathe. She was sitting on a chair, at a small table – holding her candle with both palms.

She was looking at the spirit of Myrtle Snow – her surrogate mother, she was smiling at her. She had always loved her hair, she looked way older but she still looked beautiful.

Before she could talk to her, Myrtle joined her at the table. “My child you look so good, tell me who your stylist is” she smiled, taking out a cigarette holder. She leant forward and lit her cigarette using the fire of the candle Bedelia was holding.

“I—” Bedelia stuttered, unsure of how to act, “you’re dead” she stated, eyes wide.

Myrtle puffed a cloud of white smoke and made a face. “Don’t be so plain, it doesn’t suit your persona, dear” she scolded her and Bedelia couldn’t help but giggle at the ghost in front of her. “I missed you deeply, you know” Myrtle continued, waving her hand – gesturing at someone in the room, “I often wondered if you’d ever join our Coven, as a witch of course”.

Bedelia’s heart skipped a beat. “How—?”

“My dear, I’m dead but I still have eyes all over…” she smiled cheekily, “nice pet you’ve got for yourself”.

Bedelia looked down, hiding a small smile. “I missed you too, but I couldn’t come back – not while Fiona was still alive” she confessed.

“Speak of the devil…” Myrtle muttered and stood up, Bedelia lifted her eyes to see her mother in front of her. “I’ll leave you two alone, au-revoir my child. Behave, don’t join us anytime soon” Myrtle waved her hand again, stepping away.

Fiona Goode, in her best attire, sat in front of her eldest daughter and stayed quiet.

Bedelia didn’t want to talk to her – God, she’d rather send a letter to Hannibal with her whereabouts rather than talk to her mother.

“Hello, Mother” she smiled coldly. Fiona was way older than she remembered, but she was beautiful and impeccable – as always.

“Bedelia,” she smiled, “look at you. The last time I saw you, you were fifteen – did anybody tell you that you look incredibly like me?”

“Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?” she spat with a sarcastic smile on her lips.

A cold gust of wind made her shiver and she realised that three of the candles were already off. She looked at her sister and she saw her with a painful look on her face.

Bedelia looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Don’t bother them,” Fiona told her in a bored tone, “the hippie is kicking Madison in the ass” she explained but Bedelia was still very confused. “Tell me about you, why are you back?”

“I needed a safe place,” she breathed heavily, “but apparently I came to the wrong place” she raised an eyebrow, turning her eyes to the room full of ghosts and witches.

Fiona laughed, leaning back into the chair and opening her arms wide. “You thought this shitty place was safe? You haven’t changed a bit, Bedelia… you’re still a naïve, spoiled child. Only you’re older and—” she stopped, crooking her head to one side, peeking under the table and poking at her left leg with her feet, “broken…”

“At least my soul is not rotting in Hell” Bedelia smiled, her mother’s words didn’t touch her.

“Haven’t you heard?” Fiona smiled back, they had the exact same expression on their faces. “I don’t have a soul”.

Bedelia’s candle was the only one still lit, she realised. “When I came here I told Cordelia I would have gladly given my other leg to kill you myself,” she told her mother and a proud look appeared in Fiona’s eyes, “I take it back, Mother. I have a way better option now” she straightened her back and leant forward, “I can send you right back where you belong, and I really hope I’ll never see your face again” she whispered in her teeth, blowing out the candle and her mother disappeared in an instant, her smile still in place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Myrtle, my baby, I love you so much.  
> Fiona, my other baby. I love you too.  
> I hope they were IC...


	17. Down the Rabbit hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beware the Jabberwock, and prepare to enter my Wonderland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mainly from Bedelia's POV, I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you'll enjoy reading it!

Bedelia hadn’t seen her sister in the past twenty-four hours and she was starting to worry. She knew Cordelia was very tired and shaken after the previous days events, but she still needed to talk to her about her situation and she also wanted to apologise.

Alice had settled in her room, she still didn’t know how to feel about it but it was definitely easier to keep an eye on her this way.

After she had sent her mother back to Hell, Bedelia returned to her room, to find Alice in a catatonic state again. Bedelia stayed awake the whole night, just in case Alice or whoever was in her head had decided to pop in for a visit.

She approached the greenhouse unsteadily; the ground was damp and muddy from the rain of the previous night and the point of her cane kept sinking into the soil.

Bedelia cursed under her breath, when the heel of her right shoe stuck in the mud. She stopped and breathed slowly – it was hard to think straight when every solution in your mind ended with you falling face down on the ground.

That would have been a great time to remember how to use the Transmutation, she thought to herself while pulling lightly on her left knee with both hands.

She succeeded in freeing herself after a couple of tries; she straightened her back, checking if anyone had noticed her – but she was alone, so she headed carefully towards the greenhouse.

As she approached the door, fixing her hair, she heard her sister laughing cheerfully from inside. The laughs stopped when Bedelia knocked on the door, and it opened with a creaking sound.

Entering the room, Bedelia couldn’t contain a surprised gasp. The whole place looked completely different. Big beautiful pink flowers had bloomed all over the walls, their perfume was thick in the air.

Cordelia was alone, in the centre of the room, holding a vase of red carnations, her smile still wide on her lips. “Sister!” she greeted Bedelia with a gleeful voice. “What can I do for you?”

Bedelia entered the greenhouse limping, leaning on her cane. A sarcastic look on her face, as she closed the door behind her. “I thought you were exhausted, I didn’t expect to find you so… cheerful” she exhaled, finally resting her back against the table and relieving the leg from her weight. “Actually, Cordelia, I came here to talk to you about a subject extremely dear to me… it’s—” she cleared her throat, averting her eyes, “something that concerns me very deeply. Have I interrupted your job?” Bedelia hinted at her blooming plants. Maybe she was working on something.

Her sister smiled again, shaking her head. “No,” she replied, “I was just helping Misty to adjust herself to her new situation, that’s all”.

Bedelia frowned, having no idea what she was talking about. “Who?” she asked.

“Hi…” a voice came from right next to her and she jumped in surprise, turning her head towards the woman at her right. She was sure the woman wasn’t there a second before. She was tall, and blonde… and she was wearing a preposterous outfit. “I’m… I’m Misty… I’m a ghost” she smiled widely, waving her hand at Bedelia.

Bedelia blinked a few times, looking directly at the curly blonde woman. “Hello,” she said still unsure, “it’s a pleasure to meet you”.

“Misty, this is my sister Bedelia. Bedelia, this is my friend Misty” Cordelia introduced them, joining both hands under her chin; she clearly was very happy about something Bedelia couldn’t understand.

“Oh!” Misty winced, reaching out for her, “I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t know Miss Cordelia had a sister”.

She heard Cordelia scuffing. “You can drop the ‘Miss’, Misty. You’re our protective spirit now”.

Bedelia looked down at Misty’s hand, unsure how to react. She took it in her own hand and shook it, surprised to be able to touch her. “Don’t worry. I’ve been away for a long time”.

“Misty, would you mind leaving my sister and I alone for a few moments?” Cordelia asked kindly.

Misty nodded, joining her hands, awkwardly bowing. She disappeared within a second, and another vase of flowers instantly bloomed.

“We managed to cast Madison into Misty’s Hell. Apparently one soul comes in and one comes out, so…” Cordelia shrugged, turning her back to her sister and starting to fill several pots with soil.

“I understand,” Bedelia began, she moved her hair to one shoulder, “what I do not understand, is the reason why you’re helping her to…” she didn’t know how to refer to the situation, so she just pointed at the hundreds flowers that filled the greenhouse, “achieve this”.

“Misty is a friend of mine, and I want her to feel at ease” Cordelia explained, without turning back to her sister. “I’m not doing much, to be honest. Her will is strong, she has always been between the line of life and death… she has no body but she can stick to a physical form very easily. She’s good”.

“She’s dead…” Bedelia tried to sound casual, she didn’t succeed.

“I know,” Cordelia said, Bedelia could almost hear the fake smile in her sister’s voice, “but dead is better than what she was before”.

Bedelia inhaled deeply, stretching her back and lowering her shoulders. She didn’t want to get into a fight with her sister again, so she stayed quiet for a while.

Cordelia broke the silence, lifting a pot and placing it on the table where Bedelia was resting. “Why are you here, sister?” she asked without sentiment in her voice.

“I am _experiencing_ something…” she said tentatively, looking down at her hands.

“How am I supposed to help you if you’re not more precise?” Cordelia spurred her, with a trace of curiosity in her voice, now.

Bedelia knew she wasn’t going anywhere without telling her the truth. “You seemed so keen on reading my mind, sister” she joked, but then she sighed. “I think my powers have awoken” she simply said.

It was more than enough for Cordelia to squeal in delight, completely forgetting about her argument and the discussion they were having moments before.

She joined Bedelia at the table and took her hands in her own. “What happened? How?”

Bedelia didn’t want to go through all the story again. “I teleported from a place to another, months ago… but it never happened again” she said, looking away. “And now…” she closed her eyes, it was harder than she expected, “I have found myself able to use Telekinesis as well”.

“Oh, but that’s great news, sister!” Cordelia seemed extremely happy about it. She squeezed her hands. “There’s royal blood pumping in our veins, I was sure you had it in you, Bedelia” her voice was kind and comforting. “Do you need help to master your abilities?” the idea seemed very promising in Cordelia’s eyes.

Bedelia took her hands back, feeling uncomfortable. She was still new to the situation, she wasn’t sure it was a good thing and her sister’s happiness was slightly irritating. “I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t tell anybody”.

Cordelia was clearly disappointed, but she respected her sister’s decision and nodded. “Sure… but let me help you, please”.

Bedelia knew that Cordelia wouldn’t have given up easily, so she agreed to let her sister help her. Bedelia didn’t expect to become a skilful witch, but she had to admit to herself that being able to control her abilities was an alluring prospect.

She needed to drink now, so she left her sister to her plants and she met Zoe on the way back. The air was starting to get warmer, the girls’ clothes started to become shorter. “Hey,” Zoe greeted her with a smile.

“Good morning” Bedelia replied with the same smile, she didn’t want to stop and start a conversation, but Zoe thought otherwise.

“You were in the greenhouse?” she asked casually, nodding at the place.

Bedelia nodded. “I had to talk to my sister, why? Is everything alright?” the urgency in her voice was clear, but she tried not to sound too harsh.

Zoe shrugged. “I’ve tried to talk to Delia for hours. Is she still making pottery with Misty?”

Bedelia couldn’t help but chuckle, she lowered her gaze. “I’m afraid so, but she was alone when I left her” she replied in a soft tone.

“I’d better be quick then” Zoe muttered, waving goodbye while rushing to the greenhouse.

Bedelia stopped by the kitchen before entering her bedroom. She was holding a glass of red wine, it was ten o’ clock, but she barley cared anymore.

She found out Alice was out of bed, she was sitting on a chair, looking out of the window.

“How are you feeling today, Alice?” Bedelia asked tentatively, sipping from her glass.

Alice didn’t reply, and for a while they both remained in silence.

Bedelia sat on her bed, she checked her reserve of sedatives – since she had started injecting it to Alice to keep her quiet, her supplies had halved.

“Would you help me?” Alice asked and she sounded tremendously British. No Alice, then. Only the Rabbit sounded that way – Bedelia supposed the reason was that the Rabbit was born when Alice was still a child and still lived in England with her natural parents.

She emptied the glass of wine and placed it on the bedside table; she was surprised by that request. “Help you to do what, exactly?” she asked cautiously.

Alice stayed quiet, after a while, she spoke again. “She’s crying. I killed her friend but she is crying, blaming herself. I don’t understand. Help me to understand”.

That was new, Bedelia thought. She breathed loudly and raised her eyes to the ceiling. What to do now? “You,” she started, closing her eyes and massaging her lids, “killed her friend because she asked you to do so” she said. “It was her decision to end Christina’s life, not yours. You are the instigator of the crime, but Alice was the one who carried it out”.

“I still don’t understand” the Rabbit admitted, Alice’s long hair lay on her back, shining under the sun that was coming through the window.

Bedelia sighed again, she explained herself once more – this time as if she was talking to a child. “You are both guilty. She didn’t kill her friend, but she had the idea. You acted according to her demand”.

“I wanted to protect her” he said.

Bedelia felt a tinge of compassion warming her chest. It was useless lying to herself at this point. She grew attached to the girl in front of her, and it was her intention to help her. “I know,” she said, “she knows that too. But she has to process what happened, she cannot do that if you keep her out of the outside world. Let me help her”.

Alice fell silent again, after a moment, her shoulders began to tremble and she started to sob uncontrollably.

Bedelia stood up, and slowly approached her; as soon as she was next to her, Alice almost threw herself at her, wrapping her arms around Bedelia’s waist and crying into her stomach.

Lovingly caressing her hair, Bedelia stood there without speaking a word. She let Alice relieve her feelings, until she was unable to cry and her eyes were red and swollen.

“I want you to do something now,” Bedelia told her with a serious expression on her face, wiping out the unshed tears in the corner of Alice’s eyes.

Alice’s bottom lip trembled dangerously as she shook her head lightly. “I’m really not in the mood for a therapy session, Bedelia”.

Bedelia’s face remained stoic; she placed her hands on Alice’s shoulders and she gave them a quick, comforting squeeze. “We’re not going to have a session now,” she said, “I’m going to hypnotize you. It won’t relieve the pain, it won’t help you to process the mourning, but it will help you to be in control of your alters”.

Alice seemed confused. “I thought it was what we were doing before, why do you want to do this now?”

“Because I thought that I’d be able to help you gradually… and I would have, if circumstances had been different” she said, with a sad look in her eyes. “Unfortunately,” she added, “we don’t have a lot of time and the stressful situation you’re living in won’t help you at all”.

Once the door was locked and the window curtains shut, Bedelia sat in front of Alice and she crossed her legs, lifting the right one on the top of the other.

“Hypnosis is just a relaxation technique that helps people to understand their problems in their subconscious with more clarity” she explained in a very calm tone, Alice didn’t seem nervous, though. “Have any of your doctors ever tried this with you?”

Alice shook her head. “We never trusted them; Dr. Roberts tried to do it once, but I bit him. He said I wasn’t suitable”.

“Nonsense,” Bedelia said, “a person cannot be hypnotize if someone tries to do it against their will. You’ll have to trust me completely, will you?”

Alice nodded, looking into Bedelia’s eyes. She believed her.

“You won’t fall asleep or lose consciousness, you won’t be under any kind of mind control. Do you understand?”

Alice nodded again.

“We will try to understand what happened to you and why. I explained to you that Dissociative Identity Disorder is often caused by a trauma in which the person cannot handle the stress or the reality around themselves, it often happens at a younger age… we will try to go back as far as we can.

“You might feel your eyes become heavier and want to close them” Bedelia’s voice was soft and warm, so that it might help Alice to relax as she spoke. She let her voice drag the words, speaking lower than usual. “Let your body naturally sink into the chair and relax your muscles. Listen to my voice as you begin to feel calmer.

“I want you to inhale and exhale deeply and slowly” she demanded and Alice did as she was told. “Try to synchronize your breathing with mine,” Bedelia leaned forward, lowering her voice even more. “Take a deep breath now, fill your chest and lungs” she inhaled and observed as Alice imitated her. As she exhaled, she whispered: “Now let the air out slowly, empty your lungs completely.

“Inhale, and exhale. Good” they kept breathing together until Bedelia was sure that Alice was completely relaxed. “I want you to focus on me now” she said, and she felt Alice’s eyes on her body. “Keep yourself focused and if you feel comfortable to close your eyes, do it” Bedelia stayed perfectly still as a statue, while Alice’s eyes remained fixed at her own; shortly after, Alice slowly closed her lids. “Try to relax your feet, now. Separate your fingers and concentrate on those tendons.

“Now focus on your legs, imagine the muscles contract. Feel your knees, your thighs” she noticed Alice’s breath was becoming more regular by the minute. “Now concentrate on your stomach, on your chest, until you can feel the muscles of your face.

“Relax your back and your arms. Feel the muscles lighten and loose in your hands, as if they had no weight.

“As I speak, this feeling of relaxation is getting stronger and stronger, it brings you to a peaceful and deep state of relaxation.

“Every word I say, it brings you closer and closer to the bottom, closer and closer, into a deep, deep, peaceful state of hypnosis.

“I want you to imagine yourself at the top of a long staircase, in a big and warm room, and I want  you to descend it, step by step. As you proceed, you feel yourself more relaxed with every step that brings you closer to the depth of your mind. When you reach the tenth step, your body gives you the feeling of floating away blissfully.

“You’re at the bottom at the stairs now, Alice. There’s a door in front of you. I want you to open it. Where are you?”

Alice’s voice was soft and distant, her face was blank. “I’m in Wonderland”.

“Tell me what do you see”.

“There’s a forest and it’s dark. There’s another door but it’s too far away…” she seemed scared.

“It’s all fine, Alice. You’re safe” Bedelia reassured her with a warm tone, “I want you to step closer to the other door. There’s no need to rush, do it slowly. Step by step. You’re there now, Alice. Enter the room and tell me where are you”.

Alice’s breathing was regular once again. “I’m in the orphanage, I can see Miss Darling and my new Mum and Dad” she said, in a childish and nervous tone.

* * *

Miss Darling’s perfume makes me sick, she’s wearing her best dress – the one that she wears when the foster parents come to choose the children, and now she is being silly with those two people I don’t know.

She told me that I mustn’t say a single word. I only have to stay quiet and smile, with my long golden hair and my big green eyes, I am pretty and with a bit of luck, Miss Darling told me that they won’t notice I am rotten inside.

After Emily had become a star, Miss Darling locked me in my room and she screamed at me, telling me that she was looking forward to getting rid of me.

My new Mum has bright red hair, like carrots. I can bet that the Rabbit will like her. I can’t ask him now because Miss Darling took him away from me during this meeting. Miss Darling knows he’s bad and she decided that it was better to wait before introducing him to Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael.

My new Dad has a long neck and a severe look in his eyes. It reminds me of my real Dad’s look, but this new Dad hasn’t got blue eyes and he doesn’t wear glasses. I wonder if the Rabbit will like him.

“I can’t believe that such a beautiful little girl like you hasn’t been adopted yet!” my new Mum has a silly accent. “Look at how beautiful your eyes are!” she smiles, caressing my hair.

Miss Darling told me they are Americans, and I’ll be going to live in America.

I once heard her speaking with Mr. Dunphy, she told him that the further they managed to send me, the better it was.

I have been living in the orphanage for two years now, but this is the first time they try to make someone adopt me. I told the Rabbit that if he kept being bad, they would have to send us away.

But I _do_ want to be adopted! So that I won’t have to share my toys with anybody.

Miss Darling laughs and puts a hand on my head, messing my hair. I hate it. “She is the sweetest child, I’m sure you’ll get along” finally, she lets me go and gives me a little push so that I get to my feet. “Go now, Alice. Let the grown ups talk”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am no expert in hypnosis, I have done a little reaserch, so blame the Internet for any crap about it, please.


	18. Mindhunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're gonna like this one...

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. _You see_?”

“No, Mummy…” I’m confused, my Mum always says strange things, sometimes I don’t understand her.

She caresses my hair and gives me a soft kiss on my forehead. “You’ll get it one day, Alice” her voice is sweet and kind, she smiles at me. We’ve got the same eyes and the same smile. I look very much like her.

“Mummy can I go play now?” I love my Mum, but I want to go play with Jenna, my friend. She lives in the house next door and she is funny and friendly, and her room smells like candy. It’s snowing outside and she promised me we would build a snowman as tall as I am.

She also has a pretty cat named Bubble, and it always licks my hands after Jenna and I eat the cupcakes her Mum cooks for us.

My Mum shakes her head no, and she picks me up. “Not now, Alice. It’s teatime!” she says and I look at the big owl-shaped clock on the wall of my bedroom. I can’t read it, but the long thing is on 12 and the short thing is on 5 – even if I don’t know what it means, I know she’s right. It’s time for our daily tea party.

She sets the little table and the little cups and teapot, she puts me on a small chair and takes her place in front of me. “I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?” she asks to herself, looking out of the window and then back at me. “Do you remember what comes next, Alice?”

I do, and I proudly nod with a big smile. “And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says…”

The next line, we say it together. “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again” my Mum smiles widely and claps her hands. “Well done, Alice!” she says and I giggle.

She pours some tea in my small, porcelain teacup and then does the same with her own. I wait until she picks it up and brings it to her lips, and then I imitate her, sticking out my pinkie finger because it always makes her laugh. “Your Majesty,” I say aloud, lifting my chin up, “this tea is excellent, may I have some more?”

“Why, of course you can, my dear Alice” she smiles, pouring me another cup. “Would you like some tart?”

I look at the table, and I frown. “But… Your Majesty, there aren’t any tarts here!”

The Queen of Hearts lowers her gaze, she scares me a bit. One of her eyebrows rises and she puts both hands on the table. “Well then, I might be forced to chop some heads off, and since I didn’t eat them and you didn’t…” she says and I shiver.

“Not Daddy’s please!” I whimper, I don’t want her to hurt my Dad. “He didn’t eat the tarts! Maybe… maybe Bubble did! He loves sweet food, and your tarts are delicious, Your Majesty!”

“Very well then,” the Queen says, calmer now, “I’ll have a chat with that cat later, you can go now, Alice”.

 

I’m in Wonderland again, I’ve just closed the door of the memory with my real mother and our tea party. I can see from here the door that I’ve never managed to open, it scares me. I can’t even get  close to it.

The door is dark as blood, the handle is black and covered with roses and thorns, and it’s guarded.

The Duchess is always in front of the door. She’s not ugly, she never was… she’s a beautiful woman, she looks incredibly like my real mother and she’s holding a crying baby.

“There is no way I can open that one” I say aloud, even though I’m alone.

A voice comes from nowhere, it’s Bedelia’s. “You don’t have to open that door yet. Try to get closer” I do as I’ve been told. I don’t like it.

I don’t like the Duchess, even if she’s beautiful and I don’t like her baby – but I step closer, and when I’m close enough, she notices me. “You shouldn’t be here,” she says.

Bedelia’s voice reaches me again, “Where are you, Alice?” she asks, calmly.

The Duchess looks up and gasps, I turn my head and I see her – Bedelia is floating in the air, she’s wearing a long, silky, blue dress. She’s the Caterpillar, of course. “ _You_ really shouldn’t be here…” the Duchess whispers, holding her baby to her chest and rocking it nervously.

“Who are you?” Bedelia asks, and the Duchess whines shaking her head, she’s almost crying.

“Go away!” she sobs. “Go away! You can’t stay here!”  she looks at me and hands me her baby, then she pushes me. “Go away! Don’t come back!”

“Alice, listen to my voice. Focus on my words; tell me where are you”.

I’m holding the baby and it’s crying. It’s wrapped in a blanket and I don’t want to see its face.

There’s daylight in Wonderland. I’m in the forest again, there aren’t any doors here. I’m lost. I’m lost in my own Wonderland. I’m under a tree, it’s black and its bark is cracked, blood drips from the cracks.

“Alice? Can you hear me? Where are you?”

“I—” there’s a path right in front of me now, but it’s dark and scary. “I don’t know, I’m lost. I don’t know where to go” my heart races, the baby doesn’t stop crying.

“Look for another door, Alice”.

I don’t know where I am, I don’t know where the doors are. I don’t want to enter another door. I want to wake up, I want to leave Wonderland.

The baby in my arms quivers, I let it fall to the ground. The blanket slips away, revealing a puffy white rabbit. It hops and hops, and then he starts growing.

It’s as tall as me now and he stands on two paws. He’s a man, wearing an elegant black suit but its head is still of a rabbit.

His black eyes are set on me, he reaches out his hand towards me.

“There aren’t any doors,” I tell Bedelia, my voice is weak, “but there’s my Rabbit. He’s reaching out for me” I’m speaking as if he’s not right in front of me.

He doesn’t say a word.

“Follow him, Alice. Follow the Rabbit”.

I take his hand and he squeezes it; he turns his back to me and drags me away almost hurting me.

The Rabbit seems to know where he’s going and as we stomp on a flower bed, the flowers wake up. “Watch out!” a tiger lily screams.

“We’re trying to sleep here!” the voice of a daisy rings in my ears.

The Rabbit stops in front of a door I’ve never seen before and he lets go of my hand, when I turn around, he’s not here anymore.

I open the door, my heart beating fast. I’m not sure I want to know what’s on the other side of it.

 

Blood. Blood everywhere. On my hands, on my clothes, on my bare feet… on the knife on the floor.

It shines in the light of the lamp of my parents’ nightstand.

Ruby red, sparkles in an almost hypnotic way. So nice, thick and warm.

My Mum is still on the bed; her throat cut open. A red river wets the blankets; her green eyes, just like mine, are wide with terror, her candid lips are wide open in a scream.

Daddy’s on the ground, his back full of holes. He was on the bed, but he got up – he didn’t go far, before falling to his knees, anyway.

The bloody fingerprints of his hands on the floor and on the walls are so beautiful. Like those I make at school with red paint.

I pick up the knife from the ground, then I turn to the Rabbit, he nods with satisfaction.

“Now they won’t be so greedy! Who needs a little brother? Not us, for sure. No one will replace you now, Alice,” he says, reaching his paw towards me. I grab it and pick it up in my arms, holding him to my stomach.

“Why did you hurt Mummy and Daddy?” I ask with a soft voice, I’m not scared because he is with me and I love him. “They weren’t unkind to _you_ , they didn’t want to buy a new stuffed pet!”

“Shush, don’t worry about it. Now let’s go to bed, Alice. Let’s go play” he says and I nod.

Holding him and the knife close to me, I go back to my room and I lock the door. There’s blood everywhere, even on my bed now… Mummy will be so mad at me when she wakes up.

* * *

Bedelia lowered her head, it was time to wake Alice up. “Alice, I want you to come back to me when I reach three”.

“One,” she said, “you’re starting to feel more conscious about your surroundings.

“Two, you feel yourself getting heavier and heavier,” her voice was soft and warm.

“Three, come back to me _now_ , Alice” she demanded and Alice opened her eyes.

Her green irises, usually warm and expressive, were now cold and dull. The hairs on the back of Bedelia’s neck were raised. She waited for Alice to say something.

It was the first time she went that far inside her memories, she had never experienced the death of her real parents before. Alice once remembered the Hatter and how he used to feed her drugged meals, she remembered a few of the kills they committed together – some of them were horrible to listen to, Bedelia couldn’t picture the sweet girl in front of her doing the things she had told her. She knew it wasn’t Alice who committed those murderers, though – Bedelia knew that the majority of them were down to the Hare, some of them to the Cat and fewer to the Rabbit… she still wasn’t sure of _how many_ personalities were inside Alice’s head.

It was the first time she had met the Rabbit during one of her sessions, she was sure she had talked to someone else too, but she had no idea who that person was.

The sun had set hours before, it was a quiet evening – the last day of August. Alice and Bedelia have been doing that dance every day, for almost two months now. They had managed to reach places Alice didn’t know even existed; there was still that door, the one that she couldn’t open – today’s session was the first one Alice actually tried to approach it. She once told Bedelia the door was guarded by the Duchess; Bedelia knew the Duchess was a counterpart of the Queen of Hearts in the book, she believed that particular memory was deeply involved with her birth mother and she was intent on opening that door with Alice’s help.

“I had to do it,” Alice told her with a small voice and a British accent, she lowered her head and joined both hands in her lap. “I don’t want her to enter that room again”.

It wasn’t the first time the Rabbit came out during the hypnosis sessions, he was the first protector and the sessions usually upset Alice incredibly, particularly when the memories she relived were about her childhood years.

Alice got up and walked across the room, stopping in front of the bedside table. She leant forward and opened the first drawer, she took out something Bedelia couldn’t see yet. “How are you feeling?” she asked, she tried to look at her without turning her head. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“There is absolutely nothing to talk about,” Alice answered in a harsh tone. “I didn’t want her to enter that room”.

“Then tell me why you led her to that door” Bedelia was still sitting on her sofa, her legs crossed, one arm resting on the armrest, the other one spread on the top of the back of the sofa.

“Because,” she said, “I didn’t want her to enter the Duchess’ room either”.

That made Bedelia frown. She turned to Alice, finding out she was still standing in front of the bedside table. “Do _you_ know what’s inside the Duchess’ room?” she asked cautiously.

Alice nodded, she closed the drawer and went back to her chair, in front of Bedelia. “I do,” she said with a sinister smile that made Bedelia shiver, “but I won’t tell you” she added.

“Alice might use the information inside the room,” she started but the Rabbit stopped her; Alice showed to her what she had collected from the drawer.

It was a big kitchen knife, Bedelia had no idea it was inside the drawer. It wasn’t there that morning. “Alice doesn’t need the information inside that room, she couldn’t bear it”.

Bedelia swallowed, trying to focus on the girl in front of her and not the blade she was holding in her hands. “She _needs_ that information, I know you just care about her, but you’re not helping her keeping her out of her own mind. Let me talk to her,” she asked kindly.

“Not this time, Your Majesty” Alice said, eyes cold as ice. She sighed, playing with the blade. It shined under the artificial lights of the chandelier, projecting a bright reflection on Alice’s face. “You see,” she started with a playful tone, the point of her index finger was tracing the blade of the knife, “Alice and I… we usually agree on most of the things, but this time we don’t” she said. “She thinks you’re the Caterpillar… I, on the other hand, think you’re more like a Red Queen. Once, Carroll said about the Red Queen: ‘ _her passion must be cold and calm – she must be formal and strict, yet not unkindly_ ’ and I think this description suits you very well, doesn’t it?”

Bedelia was lost, she didn’t know what to do. The conversation was nonsense, the blade in Alice’s hands was dangerously close to her. She wasn’t sure she was talking to the Rabbit, after all…

She got up, she didn’t need her cane in her room anymore. She wasn’t able to run, but she was quick enough to reach the bedside table in two long steps – there was still her gun in the drawer and if Alice was armed, she might be as well.

Bedelia yelped in pain when she was pushed with force against the wall. She could feel Alice’s body pressed against hers and the blade she was holding, cold against her cheek. Bedelia had her fingers wrapped around her gun, but she didn’t want to shoot. She didn’t want to hurt Alice…

She felt herself spin around, now her back was pressed against the wall and Alice grabbed her wrist forcefully and lifted her arm above her head, with the same hand that was holding the knife. “Now, now,” she smiled mischievously, “don’t make me cut those pretty fingers of yours. Alice would hate me if I do, and I don’t want Alice to be mad at me” she smiled again, her voice lower. “Drop it” it was an order.

Bedelia let the gun go and it fell to the ground with a thud, she tried to reason with the Rabbit. “Let me talk to Alice, please… I want to be sure she is fine,” she started, her voice was very calm, but her heart was racing in her chest.

Alice shook her head slowly, her eyes fixed in Bedelia’s. “She is okay, she’s not here. She is in her cage, she locked herself in there voluntarily. It’s just you and me now and I want to play”.

Bedelia was sure Alice was still in there, somewhere. She hoped she could hear her… “If you want to kill me,” she said, her voice cold, “do it quickly, but before you do, think about how Alice will feel when you let her go. We both know you can’t lock her away forever” her heart was pounding in her chest, her ears were ringing and she could still feel the cold blade against her empty palm.

Alice frowned for a moment, her eyebrows disappeared into the line of her hair. “Kill you?” she laughed, amused. “I don’t want to kill you…”

Bedelia didn’t know what to say or think. She stayed quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on inside the head of the woman in front of her, but her eyes were sparkling in a way she had never seen before.

She sure was surprised when Alice leant forward, pressing their lips together. Bedelia knew she shouldn’t have – but she felt a wave of desire building inside of her stomach, reaching down between her legs. It was the body of her lover, after all.

Alice pushed her tongue inside Bedelia’s mouth and she couldn’t repress a moan, that turned into a whine when Alice bit her lower lip hard. Bedelia could taste blood, and she surprisingly didn’t mind.

It was Alice who broke the kiss first, she had blood dripping from the corners of her mouth and she wiped it out with her tongue, smirking. It was wrong and arousing at the same time, Bedelia thought, her breathing quickened.

The Rabbit seemed to enjoy the taste of her blood, because the next thing she did was to bring the blade to Bedelia’s jaw and she dragged it lightly, ripping her skin. Bedelia stiffened against the wall, but she stayed perfectly still, looking up. She opened her mouth slightly and closed her eyes when she felt Alice’s tongue warm and wet licking her wound, another hit of pleasure stroke directly between her legs this time.

It didn’t seem wrong like the time with the Cat, she thought. For some unknown reason, it was different. She knew somehow that even if Alice wasn’t there, the Rabbit cared about Alice’s feelings and he didn’t do anything that might have hurt her. She decided to trust her instincts.

Alice’s voice – with the Rabbit’s accent – purred inside Bedelia’s ear, making her quiver in anticipation. “You taste sweet,” she said, sounding surprised.

“I’ve been marinated for a very long time,” Bedelia managed to reply, her eyes still closed; she was almost out of breath. “Is Alice,” she breathed, forcing herself to open her eyes and look directly at the woman in front of her, “okay with this?” she closed her mouth, trying hard to breathe through her nose.

Alice smirked again, crooking her head to one side and placing the knife to the open wound. Blood dripped onto the surface of it, and Alice licked it away, dragging her tongue across the length of the blade. “Very,” she replied, making eye contact and she stepped away.

Bedelia felt immediately the loss of contact, she missed Alice’s curves pressed against her own, the warmth that Alice’s body was irradiating, but she didn’t move, instead, she watched as Alice brought the blade to her own palm, dragging it down and offering the bloody hand to her.

She was a doctor, she knew how many diseases were transmittable that way… did she really care at this point? Hell  no.

Bedelia took Alice’s hand in her own and brought it to her lips, she kissed her fingertips, before licking the blood away from them, fixing her eyes on Alice, wanting to see her reaction.

Alice closed her eyes, the smirk still in place and she hummed in pleasure as Bedelia could taste her blood on her tongue. In the blink of an eye, Alice lips were on her own again. This time they kissed with force and passion, teeth biting and clenching.

Bedelia found herself pressed against the wall once again, her hands were in Alice’s hair, pulling her closer – she couldn’t take it anymore, she was aching for her. Bedelia broke the kiss, panting.

Alice’s pupils were dilated, her eyes darkened in desire. Her face was flushed, her lips sore and bloody – she looked glorious.

Bedelia pushed her aside, trying to recollect herself as she turned her back to Alice. She climbed onto the bed, and when she turned again, Alice was already on the top of her – she placed the blade on the bed, forcing Bedelia to lay down and she lowered her head to capture her lips in a fierce kiss.

Bedelia desperately wanted to feel her, but when she tried to cup one of her breasts, Alice stopped her hand, grasping her wrist, hurting her. “Don’t—” she warned her in a dangerous tone and Bedelia struggled to take her hand back, “Alice doesn’t want you to touch me” she told her in a serious tone and the only thing Bedelia could do was nod.

She let herself fall onto the mattress, closing her eyes when she felt Alice’s hand under her dress – she didn’t even bother to undress her, but Bedelia couldn’t care less. She let out a moan as Alice’s mouth was on her neck again, licking and biting the open wound, caressing her through her underwear.

Bedelia was sure she was going crazy; the Rabbit might have been fiercer, but he was as slow and mischievous as Alice.

She opened her mouth and arched her back, groaning softly as Alice’s fingers were lightly pressed against her opening – the lace of her panties still in between.

Bedelia never begged, but she was dangerously close to do so when she felt Alice fingers slipping under the rim of the lace, and she moaned loudly when Alice pushed two fingers inside of her, biting her neck.

Biting her lower lip, Bedelia suppressed a cry – tasting her own blood and breathing loudly through her nose. She clenched her hands into the pillow next to her, throwing her head back, letting it sink into the one under her.

Alice’s fingers kept pumping inside her, as her thumb started to caress Bedelia’s clit in a slow circle motion, that grew faster along with Bedelia’s moans.

Bedelia pushed herself further into Alice’s body, turning her head convulsively – it was almost too much to take. She was hopelessly trying to keep herself quiet, since it was still early in the evening, but her tries weren’t successful. She could feel Alice’s smirk against her neck.

Alice placed an open-mouthed kiss under her ear, the point of her tongue teased her earlobe before she captured it between her teeth, nibbling painfully.

Bedelia could feel Alice’s hot breath on her as she laughed lightly against her skin. Bedelia moaned again, extremely close to the edge. Her eyes rolled back into her skull, before she could bite her lips she was already whispering Alice’s name, almost like a pray.

“She’s enjoying it too,” the Rabbit said, Alice’s voice deep and alluring, purred into her ear, sending chills down her spine.

It was Bedelia’s undoing, as she came with a soundless cry around Alice’s fingers, clenching her fists into the mattress.

A moment of absolute silence followed, the only sound in the room was Bedelia’s laboured breathing. Alice drew back her fingers, and she licked them, tasting her once more. Then the sound of a voice too close to come from outside the locked door.

“Excuse me,” before Bedelia could open her eyes, she heard a cry. Confused, she looked over Alice’s shoulder to find Misty inside her room – with Alice’s knife stuck between her eyes, Alice’s arm was still extending towards the Coven’s ghost. “I’m sorry, did I interrupt something?” she asked very awkwardly.

“Actually, we’ve just finished,” Bedelia heard Alice’s voice answering and she felt a wave of heat warming her head and cheeks. She didn’t say anything – she was still recovering from her orgasm, she would have liked a few more moments. “Can I have my knife back?”

Bedelia watched as Misty pulled the blade off her forehead and – without bleeding – she placed it on the bed, averting her eyes from the couple.  “Well… Miss Bedelia, if you don’t mind, Cordelia sent me to call you. She said you’re late for your lesson”.

Bedelia let her head fall back again, fighting a frustrated groan. “Please, tell her I’ll be there in ten minutes” she said, in a flat tone.

She didn’t see if Misty was gone, but she felt Alice shifting onto her side. “For a person who’s able to read minds, your sister is a disaster at timing” she commented.

Bedelia nodded, then lifted an eyebrow. “Or a very treacherous one”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing about Wonderland, you're gonna have more of it in the next chapter.  
> Yesterday I have made the third trailer for this fanfiction, if you want to see it (ot all three of them - they're very short) you can find it here, and tell me what your opinion is ^_^
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUc3mtMkBiA


	19. Alice in Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's open some doors, shall we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: an animal dies in this chapter, but it's not a real animal...  
> I know I did (and will do) _much_ worse, but I don't know... I feel like I should have told you so. It's all in Alice's head, no real animals were harmed during the writing of this chapter.

Cordelia’s study was silent – the Supreme was sitting behind her desk, immersed in her reading. Almost twenty minutes had passed since she asked Misty to call her sister.

Cordelia’s eyes rose from the book and she sighed. The laughs of the children were audible from there; they were probably out in the garden with one of their teachers doing some Wicca rituals. They loved doing this kind of stuff, playing by the fire under the moonlight, learning the secrets of the magical plants… and since Misty hadn’t come back yet, Cordelia supposed she had joined the little witches.

The Supreme smiled, reaching out to touch the petals of the lilies in front of her, on her desk. Her fingertips brushed the silky flowers and a smile appeared on her lips; she had never managed to grow those lilies – no matter how she tried, they had never bloomed, until Misty, of course.

For months she had nightmares about the day she died in her arms, she couldn’t actually _see_ what happened, but her mind showed her a lot of different scenarios.

She couldn’t believe Misty was actually there, now – with the Coven, with her…

Sure, she wasn’t alive, but she was a happy ghost, with her good aura that irradiated throughout the whole place.

Cordelia couldn’t be happier.

She adjusted her glasses, trying to translate a sentence from Latin in to English, when she heard a knock on her door. “Come in,” she called.

Bedelia entered the room, leaning against her cane. She was heavy breathed because of all the stairs she had to climb to reach her sister’s study.

When Cordelia noticed the white bandage that covered half of her neck, she stood up and joined her by the door, taking her arm with a worried look in her eyes.

“What happened? Are you alright?” she asked, leading Bedelia to her desk and as her sister sat on a chair, she took her place in front of her.

Bedelia nodded, her eyes didn’t show any emotions. “Forgive me if I’ve kept you waiting, sister” she said, “I lost track of the time”.

“Don’t worry” Cordelia smiled, she knew the reason why Bedelia was late – she didn’t want to peek on her sister, but she was worried that something could have happened. She didn’t know what Alice was capable of, and she didn’t want her sister to get into some trouble, so she used her powers to check on them. She had been kind enough to wait until they were… _finished_ , before she sent Misty to call her. “Do you want to start from where we left off the last time?”

Bedelia had told her that she once used Transmutation, and that she was able to use Telekinesis. It was very probable that she was capable of other things, she just needed a little push.

Cordelia opened a drawer under her desk and took out a long white candle, she held it before her face and fixed her eyes on the wick – a second later, it took fire with a sizzling sound. She blew on the candle and handed it to her sister. “Your turn,” she said with a smile.

Cordelia knew Bedelia hated it – she wasn’t a young witch anymore, her powers weren’t growing, they still had to be fully awoken and it wasn’t an easy task.

Bedelia tried several times, but the best she could achieve was some smoke and a few sparkles. Pyrokinesis wasn’t her thing.

Half an hour had passed when the door opened again, and Cordelia smiled at Alice, but she immediately noticed something was wrong with the girl.

She wasn’t walking straight, one of her hands was bleeding, her head was lowered and even if she wasn’t showing it – Cordelia saw with her sight that she was holding a knife in the other hand.

She got up quickly, Bedelia frowned. “What is it?” she asked, worried.

“She’s armed” the answer was immediate. “Alice are you okay?” she now addressed to the girl, hoping to find her cooperative.

Alice looked up, she had cried a lot – apparently. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks wet. She lifted her right arm and, holding the blade, she used her sleeve to dry her eyes. “You—” she blurted, pointing the blade towards Bedelia, “I _hate_ you! You are messing with us, you are trying to control our mind”.

Cordelia stepped back, she turned her head to her sister. “What is she saying? Is it the _doe_ again?”

“The Hare,” her sister corrected her, without averting her eyes from Alice. “I am trying to help you, all of you” she replied in a calm tone.

Cordelia was nervous, she could sense something in Alice – she could sense the instability and she didn’t like it. Too many voices, too many emotions.

“Liar!” the Hare hissed, “I can’t believe you fooled him too! He used to be smart, he used to be my friend and now… look! Look what you’ve done to us!” he screamed, and tears rolled down Alice’s cheeks. A sob broke the Hare’s voice. “He had you there… at his mercy. He had the knife, he could have killed you” he laughed hysterically and then he snorted, “but _no_! No, he didn’t kill you! He had to _fuck_ you, of course! You—” he screamed again, clenching his fists in Alice’s hair and pulling it painfully, “you’re trying to kill us! Shut up! Shut up! Can’t you see? She is trying to kill us!” he looked up again, a sinister light sparkled in Alice’s eyes. “Oh, but you won’t. You won’t kill us, if I kill you first”.

Those words finally awoke Cordelia, and when Alice tried to run towards them, she lifted an arm, and Alice’s body was pushed hard against a wall, she flew through the air as if she was a raggedy doll.

Alice hit her head, and with a groan, she fell limp to the ground. A little stream of blood rolled down her face, from her forehead.

* * *

His head was pounding extremely painfully. He didn’t know where he was.

His tongue darted out of his mouth like the tongue of a snake and he wiped out the blood from his upper lip – was it his own blood? He tried to open his eyes and he found himself be in Bedelia’s bedroom. He tried to move his arms but realised he was tied to a chair.

“I apologise for the arrangement,” Bedelia’s voice came from behind him. “Alice?” she asked and he smiled.

“Guess again” he joked, turning his head towards her, she was pale, frightened. “My turn to apologise, right? I tried to stop him but he was _furious_ ”.

“I wasn’t sure who would wake up first,” Bedelia explained, sitting on her sofa in front of him. “I had to take some precautions”.

“Understandable,” the Rabbit said with a smirk. “I have to admit, I really don’t mind the feeling of being tied up on a chair, with you in the room” his smirk widened. “Just as much as I like the feeling of you rummaging inside my head” when Bedelia didn’t reply, he continued. “Speaking of which, I think it’s time for Alice to enter a certain door”.

He noticed a light sparkling inside Bedelia’s eyes. She was curious, he loved that about her. He liked a lot of things about the psychiatrist – she was smart, comprehensive, she didn’t judge him or Alice for the things they had done… and she was just as mad as they all were.

“Why now?” she asked, her voice soft, and her eyes fixed on him. It was like they could see right through him. No one was able to do that, no one ever was worthy enough to speak to him directly.

Though, he didn’t like the question. “The Hare,” he started, shifting in his seat, “he’s trying to corrupt us all. I want Alice to understand, and to do so, unfortunately, she needs to know what’s inside the Duchess’ room. I _know_ what’s in there, but…”

Bedelia interrupted him. “But you don’t remember, because you two were too young”.

Smart, indeed, she was; he already knew that, and yet she could still surprise him. He decided to keep her.

“Whatever happens,” he laughed, “and believe me it’s going to happen a lot, because I’m surrounded by mad people – don’t interrupt your session. Don’t wake her… not until I have shown her what I need her to see”.

“It could be dangerous”.

“I won’t let anything happen to my Alice. She trusts me, do _you_ trust me?”

It took Bedelia a moment to decide. “Yes”.

Satisfied, the Rabbit sighed, and relaxed in his seat. His expression changed, and a cloud of fear hovered over those bright green eyes.

“Alice?” Bedelia asked tentatively, and the girl nodded. “Let’s do it. Now, _breath_ …”

*

Wonderland is horrible. Black clouds cover the sky; it’s night and it’s cold. It’s never been like this before. I’m so scared… but the Rabbit is here, he is holding my hand, and he won’t leave my side.

We are not alone. The Hare, he is staring at us… he’s _rabid_. His eyes are red, foamy drool is dripping from his muzzle.

Just like the Rabbit, he has a human body with an animal head. His fur is dark and dirty, one of his eyes is bigger than the other, his teeth are big and ugly. I don’t like him.

The Rabbit squeezes my hand, and he points towards the dark forest.

I don’t want to go there, but he forces me. The Hare follows us, he is behind me as a shadow. The trees are crying, the wind is howling. I don’t want to be here, I am so scared.

I hate this side of Wonderland; I want the sun and the flowers and the bright mushrooms…

I feel myself pulled from behind, the hold the Rabbit had on my hand loosens and I am falling, alone.

It hurts, it hurts so much. I stand up, I am at the bank of a lake, but it’s not made of water. It’s made of blood and the smell is unbearable.

I turn around, the trees are leaking the same blood that flows through the ground, into the lake. There isn’t any sound anymore, just the soft whispers of the crying trees.

The sky is red, and the Hare is next to me again. “ _See_?” he asks me, I don’t know what he means. Where is my Rabbit? I want my Rabbit.

I step back, I want to go and find my Rabbit, but the Hare grabs my wrist and he pushes me into the lake.

I’m drowning in blood, I open my mouth and try to breath, but I am choking. The blood is hot and thick, it covers my eyes, it enters my mouth, my ears.

I’m sinking, and I let myself go.

 *

He is singing, while setting the table. We are waiting our guests; the Hatter is having a party, and I am the guest of honour.

The table is now set and everything is so very perfect. The cookies smell good, and all the guest have arrived and they are all so very happy.

There are people who I don’t know, they’re all in costume and then there’s the cook – I recognise her, she was at the asylum – and there’s Rachel too, my favourite nurse! Oh, she is so kind to me, she is my friend, I’m so glad she is here! I don’t know why she looks so nervous, maybe she doesn’t know anybody and it makes her feel uncomfortable. But I’m here and I smile at her, she doesn’t smile back… _rude_.

I’m sitting at one of the ends of the table at the other one, there’s the Hatter, and now he has just pulled out a large box that he gives to me. “For you,” he says.

Oh, how nice my Hatter is? Always so kind and generous.

With the same enthusiasm I would unwrap a Christmas presents, I open the box and reveal the large knife that’s inside it.

It’s beautiful and sparkling, as sharp as a razor; on the handle, embellished with curlicues, there’s my name ‘Alice’ craved into it with elegant handwriting.

I cannot hold back the emotion. “Oh, Hatter it’s a beautiful gift,” I say, holding the knife to my chest and getting up to give him a kiss on his cheek. "I can’t wait to use it!”

Who knows who will be the first person to play with me and my new toy…

The Hatter has known me for so little time, and yet  he can see through me and immediately understand what I like.

He’s very happy too.  “Well, look at you!” he pours some more tea into my cup and then he lets two little pills fall inside of it. I take my cup and drink the tea, swallowing his pills. “No reason to wait, why don’t you play a bit with our guests?”

I am glad to do so; first, I turn to Rachel, who is sitting right next to me and I grab her hand; then I chop off one of her fingers. She screams, and I laugh. “Come, come, silly Rachel!” I giggle, “don’t make such a fuss! Let’s have fun!”

Then comes the hand and then the other one. Rachel passes out, so I start with the next guest.

I want to make the Hatter very proud of me, and when he asks me to cut the cook’s throat, I do it without hesitation, and I love it. The blood is dark red, and warm. I am covered in it, and suddenly, all the guests are face down. They are asleep, only the Hatter is awake and he is applauding me, with a happy face.

“Very well, my sweet Alice!” he looks at me with fondness in his eyes, and I am so happy. “You look so beautiful covered in blood. You’re just perfect!”

 *

The Rabbit grabs my hand and pulls me out of the lake of blood, he is so mad – not at me. No, never at me – he’s mad at the Hare.

“You fool!” the Hare screams, his muzzle is dripping drool and blood. “We were so happy, so happy! You ruined everything! Why?” he’s crying with desperation.

The Rabbit growls, he pushes me behind him. “You all don’t understand. I am protecting you. _All of you_ , and this is how you thank me? You really don’t remember? Very well then, I will refresh our memories”.

He looks up, and the sky falls on us. We’re falling again, this time in a dark, bottomless pit.

 *

A dead girl is laid against a tree, in a wood. I don’t know where we are, but the Hatter is nervous. The girl is wearing my dress, she is blonde as I am. I didn’t kill her, the Hatter did.

“Now, my sweet Alice,” he says, shivering, “we… we’d better go, before someone sees us”.

He keeps eyeing the girl, he is sweating. He told me he liked her very much. Almost as much as he liked me, but he told me she was no true Alice. I am. And so I told him that I am an Alice, for sure, but I’m not the same Alice I was yesterday, because yesterday I was a completely different person. He started to be very nervous since then…

“You,” he says, joining his hands in his lap, twisting his fingers, “you are my Alice, right? You are _the_ Alice, right?”

“I—” I stammer, I’m not sure I understand what he means, he is confusing me and I don’t like the way he is looking at me. “ _I am Alice_ ” I say, because that is my name… “I am your friend”.

He shakes his head and starts to cry, covering his face. “No, no, no! You are a liar! You said you are a different person. You lied to me, I am loosing time with you, you are a liar. You are Alice but you’re not _my_ Alice. Neither was she or the one before, or all the other girls. I will never find my Alice!” he is so sad and I want to comfort him, so I try to hug him but he hugs me back too tightly and he then puts his hands around my neck and squeezes.

I can’t breathe… everything is becoming darker, and my head is fuzzy.

Then I hear him, my Rabbit.

_Let me out, Alice._

I can’t say no to the Rabbit.

I am not scared or confused anymore, I push the Hatter back with force. And he stumbles back, against a tree. I take my beautiful knife out and I stab him once, twice, three times, four times, until I lose count. And he can’t hurt us anymore. I heard noises, and I have to go, I have to go far, far away, where no one can find me.

 *

“No!” the Hare is pulling at his ears, he is almost ripping them off. “No! You haven’t!”

I’m crying. I can’t believe he killed the Hatter. He was my friend.

The Rabbit holds me, he tells me he was going to kill me because he was a crazy man and the Hare sobs louder.

The Queen is here – she is beautiful. She is wearing a long, white, pompous dress and a mask that covers her face; she remains silent as she takes a hold on the Hare’s shoulders and she drags him away, only him this time.

So long Hare, until we meet again.

“It’s time, Alice” the Rabbit tells me, and we are before the Duchess, she is holding her baby and the Rabbit takes it in his arms.

The Duchess disappears, the Rabbit discovers the little puffy white rabbit under the silky cover and he looks at it. He then lowers his head and he bites hard into the little rabbit’s fur; it squeals, as it dies and the Rabbit rips its head off in one bite.

Blood drips on the white roses that cover the handle of the door.

The roses are now red, and the Rabbit lets go of the little corpse. His muzzle is bloody now, but I am not scared.

He opens the door for me, and he lets me in. I am not afraid of entering this door anymore, I want to see, I want to know.

 *

Daddy is holding me in his arms but I want to go down, so I wiggle my legs but he doesn’t let me go. He is all shaky, and I want to cry but he keeps a hand in front of my mouth.

There are two Mummies in the room. One is on the bed and the other is next to her. The one on the bed got a booboo, the other one hurt her. And now she is taking her clothes.

I want to go hug Mummy, so I wiggle again and Daddy lets me go. I run towards Mummy and she takes me in her arms. Daddy is crying, but Mummy hugs me tight.

“Don’t say a word,” Mummy says to Daddy, “don’t say a word, or I swear to God, I’ll kill the child” I snuggle into Mummy’s neck and she kisses my forehead. “You’re such a sweet girl, Alice. I’m going to love you so much. Do you love me?”

I nod, looking into my Mummy’s eyes.

Dad steps closer and Mummy grabs him. “Her name’s not Alice. Lizzie, please… don’t do this. We can work this out, I can help you. _Please_ …”

“I’m not Lizzie. I’m Eleanor,” Mummy says with a smile and I smile too. I know my Mum’s name is Eleanor, she has such a pretty name. “And this little girl here is my sweet Alice, aren’t you?”

I’m not Alice, but if Mummy says so, I must be. I smile again and she makes me kiss her cheek, she smells funny.

“Now, Richard, would you please call the nurse? I think my sister is very sick…” she says and I look at the other Mummy on the bed. She looks asleep now, I look at my Mummy again – how come there’s two of them? “And don’t even try to ask for help, we don’t want little Alice to get herself hurt, do we?” she kisses me again and I giggle.

Dad walks backwards, his back hits the door and he nods. “Okay, okay. Just don’t hurt her…” he says with a soft voice and he leaves the room.

When I’m alone with the two Mums, the one that is holding me hugs me and rocks me. “It’s all fine, my dear Alice. I would never hurt you, Mummy would never hurt you”.

Alice, is a good name. I like Alice, I really do… I don’t like my other name. Maybe, if there are two Mummies, there are two Alices too… but how come we have the same name? The other Mummy’s name is Lizzie… what should I call the other Alice if I don’t like the name? I have it, the other Alice’s name will be Rabbit, like my puppet pet!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, one more chapter...  
> Okay, I will tell you this: I cannot explain _everything_ because there is no way Alice might know what is going on or what happened in the past. The Rabbit was also very young (they were both 2-3 years old) - so I will explain a bit what happened, but I won't go into details, since I'm using the characters' POVs.  
>  I was thinking about a sequel, or a prequel - I'd like to know what's your opinion on this matter, but hopefully you'll tell me after the story's ended.


	20. I open at the close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the last chapter... I hope you'll enjoy it.

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by herself on the bench and of having nothing to do.

It was drizzling lightly, she wasn’t bothered by the rain – it was relaxing. The smell of damp earth was strong and pungent, but she loved it.

The dogs were whimpering in the distance, for whatever reason she didn’t know – nor did she care. Boredom faded away and sadness took its place, leaving her chilly and feverish. Maybe she shouldn’t stand outside in the rain, even if it was just a light drizzle.

She closed her eyes when a soft and cold gust of wind caressed her body; she loved September.

Alice let her head fall back, beyond the rim of the bench. She inhaled deeply the smell of the rain, and the faint drops rolled down her cheeks as if they were tears.

“Who in the world am I?” thought Alice to herself, “ _Ah, that's the great puzzle_ ” she smiled, when her mind automatically finished the sentence.  She sighed, trying to think about everything but the last days events – she inevitably ended up wondering about them.

“Am I the Rabbit?” she asked to herself, “or am I Alice?” it was so confusing. “Maybe I am both, or I am neither”.

She didn’t know her real name anymore. She didn’t know she had a real name, she didn’t know her real mother wasn’t her real mother… that’s what Cordelia and Bedelia told her.

The memories of the last trip to Wonderland were blurred, there was a deep mist around those images – just like the mist that was covering the tip of the trees that surrounded the big white house.

Alice couldn’t hear the Hare anymore, she wondered where he was – and the Rabbit was quiet as well. They were all quiet… she felt incredibly alone.

Every time she closed her eyes at night, the image of the dead Hatter flashed before her closed eyelids – it was the only thing she was dreaming about lately. The thought of it was almost unbearable; how could the Rabbit have done something so terrible? He killed the Hatter, _her_ _Hatter_.

Alice couldn’t believe he was going to hurt her – the Hatter would have never done something like that. He was her friend – they had fun together, he was her Hatter and she was his Alice.

She couldn’t believe the Hatter had tried to choke her, neither… but maybe he wasn’t going to choke her _to death_ , maybe he was just mad – maybe he was going to stop, if the Rabbit hadn’t stopped him first.

And what was the whole thing about her mother? She was so confused – why did the Rabbit never tell her what was inside the Duchess’ room? That was the most blurry memory of all.

Alice sighed again, what was she going to do now? She wanted to know, but she also didn’t.

What was the point of knowing what had happened, now? Nothing could change the past, she wasn’t going to have her actual real mother back. And what about her real father? Why didn’t he ever do anything? Was he an accomplice to her fake real mother? Her head was going to explode…

Alice was curious to know all the answers to her questions, even if she knew they wouldn’t fix anything in her life. God, they might even bring new problems into her life, was it a risk she was willing to take?

She opened her eyes and the grey sky greeted her; she couldn’t see past the clouds and the mist. It was early morning and she was so tired, the nightmares kept her awake most of the night.

Soft and cadenced, the ticking sound of a clock filled the air and Alice thought that her ears had just failed her.

Puzzled, she lifted her head and turned towards the direction where the sound was coming from. With surprise, she saw a White Rabbit with red eyes running close by her – its pocket clock ticking loudly before it put it back in its waistcoat.

It walked passed by Alice without even noticing her, and disappeared behind the house, after turning the corner.

Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it enter Cordelia’s greenhouse, closing the door behind it.

She ran towards the door and put her feet between the door and the doorframe, before it shut closed and she pushed it, entering the greenhouse.

“Mr. Rabbit?” she called, but no one answered. The colours of flowers were so bright, her eyes almost hurt, and their smell was so intense that she missed the smell of the rain already.

Closing the door carefully, Alice started to wander around, looking for her White Rabbit, but it was nowhere to be found, so she started peeking into Cordelia’s stuff.

After smelling some flowers and poking at some plants, she spotted a vase where tiny mushrooms were growing; she recognised the spices – they were known as Liberty Caps, and they were extremely hallucinogenic. She picked some of the tiny white mushrooms, ate one and put the rest in her pocket, for later.

Who knew Cordelia had such interesting things in her greenhouse.

Alice then proceeded to examine the numerous collection of coloured ampules, containing different liquids inside. She had always wanted to ask Cordelia what were those things…

She started to hear someone singing, and realised it was a big pink flower above her head – it was singing a beautiful song, and it was swinging its petals at the same time. Soon, the other flowers joined it, and they all were singing. Alice started to spin around with her arms open wide, dancing to the song of the pink flowers, while all the other colours were mixing together.

When she stopped, she started to giggle uncontrollably; she was feeling dizzy, her head was still spinning.

After a second, she saw a grin in the air. She smiled back, and a head appeared around the grin.

“Hello,” she said, laughing to the head of the Cat. It wasn’t a very appealing cat, honestly. One of its ears was bitten off, and it had a scar on its right eye – which was missing.

“Hello, Alice” the Cat had a deep yet feminine voice – Alice liked it.

The Cat knew her name, Alice thought it was funny. “What are you doing here, Mrs. Cat?” she asked, trying to stay steady on her feet, while the rest of the room was spinning around her.

“Miss, please” the Cat corrected her, and Alice blushed with embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, lowering her gaze and finding out that three tiny blue mice were dancing in a circle, around her feet.

She stomped on the mice, jumping from one to another, killing them effectively and she looked up to see the Cat’s reaction.

“Thank you,” she said, “I was just starting to get very hungry” the rest of her body appeared, and Alice noticed she was a dirty grey cat, almost deep purple. “But I don’t like when someone kills my prey”.

Once again, Alice blushed, lowering her head. She doubted the Cat liked her…

After she was finished eating her breakfast, the Cat jumped on Cordelia’s working table and she started wandering around, sniffing at the Supreme’s newest potions.

“Mh,” she purred, “I don’t like this one” she said, pushing an ampule off the table with her paw.

Alice’s reflexes were still good and she rushed to save the little bottle, “Don’t do that!” she nagged the Cat, but she shrugged, sitting and starting to lick her dirty fur.

When Alice lowered her eyes to the bottle, she noticed it was shiny and it contained some kind of red liquid inside – she wondered what it tasted like. There was a tag on it, perhaps it said what it was.

Alice was disappointed when she found out that the tag didn’t inform her about the content of the bottle, instead it read ‘ _drink me_ ’, beautifully printed on it in large letters.

And since it wasn’t labelled as ‘poison’ – because Alice knew that, if you drink from a bottle marked ‘poison’, it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later – she ventured to taste it, and, finding it very nice, she very soon finished it off.

“What a curious feeling!” said Alice to the Cat, “I must be shutting up like a telescope!”

And so it was indeed: the ground was getting closer and closer, until she hit it and it all faded into darkness.

* * *

“That poor girl,” Cordelia whined, as her sister took a sip from her Irish Coffee, “I don’t wonder why she turned out to be so twisted” she commented. The two of them were sitting in the kitchen, having breakfast.

Bedelia was looking outside the window, barely listening to Cordelia’s voice. It started raining more profusely, the sound of the drops hitting hard against the window glass was something that she had always loved. She found something almost poetic in it.

“Are you listening to me, sister?” she heard Cordelia ask, a bit altered.

Bedelia raised her gaze to her sister, and nodded. “Yes,” she replied absentminded, “but I still think you shouldn’t have look inside her mind. We were doing something together…”

The two sisters had been arguing about that subject for the past few days. Cordelia had convinced Alice to let her into her mind, to find more answers. Alice wasn’t completely okay with that, but she let the Supreme do what she wanted.

Bedelia stopped them as soon as she found them, she hated the idea of using magic for something that she was already doing by her own means.

“I’ve already apologised, Bedelia” Cordelia whined, “plus, we now have some important information we didn’t have before”.

That was true, and yet Bedelia was mad about it. “Nothing we didn’t know before”.

“Oh, please!” Cordelia almost laughed in her face, “all you had were some indistinct sentences put together, I _saw_ what happened…”

Bedelia hated it, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “We don’t know if what you saw was what actually happened”.

“Her aunt killed her mother and took her place, they were twins and she wanted a baby… she took Alice or whatever her name is – if you didn’t interrupt me—” she started but Bedelia didn’t let her finish.

“You sawwhat happened, yes,” she agreed, but it was obvious there was more she wanted to say, “but you don’t _know_ what happened” she added – the arrogance in her tone was palpable. “You don’t know her aunt was so obsessed by Lewis Carroll’s book that she wanted to keep Alice a six-year old forever. You don’t know that she would have killed her and have another baby just to let Alice remain a child… your powers couldn’t _see_ this, am I wrong, sister?”

Cordelia stayed quiet for a few moments, drinking from her mug and breathing slowly through her nose. When she finally put the mug down, there was a resolution in her eyes. “And how do _you_ know all this?”

“She told me… during our sessions” Bedelia answered, and Cordelia was quite surprised by her reply. “Actually, the Rabbit told me. I am not entirely sure Alice is aware of this information”.

“That Rabbit creeps me out,” Cordelia commented, shrugging.

“He only kills to protect Alice,” Bedelia told her with a calmer tone, “the Hare, on the other hand, kills for pure fun – he’s the one who should worry you the most”.

Before her sister could reply, Bedelia sensed another presence in the room, she turned her back to Cordelia to face Misty Day.

The ghost seemed upset about something, she was twisting her fingers in her lap. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I think there’s something you should see” she said, in a worried tone.

Both Cordelia and Bedelia stood up slowly, sharing a suspicious glare. Cordelia turned back to Misty. “What is it?” she asked, looking her straight in the eyes.

“I—” she stuttered, nervously, “I think Alice is dead”.

The news shocked both women; Bedelia acted first. She shoved the chair against the table and quickly headed to the door. “Where is she?”

“Ah—” Misty followed her, “in the greenhouse, I found her there, she’s on the floor… she looks dead to me”.

Leaving the house in a rush, Bedelia didn’t mind the rain that was pouring on her – when she heard her sister voice calling for her, she didn’t stop, but she turned  her head towards her. Cordelia was running with a black umbrella, but Bedelia was already soaking wet – she couldn’t care less in that moment.

When they opened the greenhouse door, Misty appeared inside, beside Alice’s body.

Bedelia was sure her heart missed a few beats when she saw her, she was laying on the ground in a pool of vomit; her lips were blue and her eyes closed. Pieces of shattered glass were spread next to her.

“Why did she do this to herself?” Cordelia whispered in an astonished tone,  while Bedelia was already by Alice’s side, checking for vital signs.

“She didn’t” Bedelia answered, placing two fingers on her neck – on the pulse point and feeling nothing.

“What?” she heard Misty asking the question, she didn’t avert her eyes from the body.

“She didn’t do this to herself, someone else made her do it,” it was out of the question, Alice wasn’t suicidal. She looked at the glass around her – she had knelt on a shard that creaked under her weight, luckily it was her left knee. “What was inside the bottle? Help me put her on the table” she hurried Misty to help her.

They didn’t have to do anything because Cordelia used her powers to pick her up and she floated into the air, landing carefully on her working table – where the other bodies had been placed, Bedelia couldn’t help but notice.

The Supreme knelt beside the glass shards and she placed her fingertip on one of them, swiping it lightly, she then proceeded to smell it and she got up, approaching Bedelia and Misty. “Plant fertilizer,” she reached for another bottle, “just like this one”.

It was a crystal liquid, the bottle was a simple ampule. On the tag there was the name of the things she had used to produce it.

Once again, Bedelia tried to feel Alice’s wrist, her neck – she even placed a silver knife under her nose to see if she was breathing. “There’s no pulse, she’s not breathing” she finally said, her voice cold. Alice’s body was still warm. “Cordelia, do something”.

“There’s nothing I can do…” she said, approaching her sister and placing a comforting hand on her arm, but Bedelia drew it away. “She’s dead, I’m sorry”.

“Don’t be an idiot, sister” Bedelia’s anger was ringing in her voice. “You can bring her back without effort, do it”.

“She’s right,” Misty appeared by her side, but she didn’t jump this time – her eyes were too focused on the corpse before her, “I mean however she comes back, it can’t be worse than she already was… right? You can’t fuck her up more, can you? I can help…”

It was her fault, she had put her through too much, Alice couldn’t bear it. She saw her mind slowly disintegrating, session after session… she should have stopped when it was clear that the reason behind her illness were buried deep inside her brain.

Cordelia said something, but Bedelia wasn’t listening. She was holding Alice’s hand, guilt was devouring her… how could she let something similar happen? She was supposed to see this coming, she was supposed to look after her. Bedelia was selfish and something horrible came to her mind, how could _she_ survive another fail? Another human life wasted because of her negligence.

“Bedelia, step back” her sister repeated, this time grabbing her by the arm and pulling her lightly.

Bedelia stumbled, looking for her cane – realising just now that she had left it in the kitchen. She held onto the table for balance, but she left plenty of room for Cordelia.

The Supreme and the Coven’s ghost were facing each other – the table between them – and they joined hands above Alice’s body.

As Bedelia was observing the scene, she found herself unable to breath, until her lungs started to hurt and she had to take a deep breath. A painful cramp clenched her stomach, that and the smell of the vomit on the floor almost made her feel sick.

She saw Cordelia leaning close to Alice, whispering something and placing a kiss on the top of her forehead.

When she stood up again, the only thing Bedelia could hear was her heart pounding in her chest. She was sure it was going to explode – she wanted to throw up.

She didn’t dare to blink, her eyes were itching – right when she thought it was all useless, Alice opened her eyes wide and inhaled deeply and loudly, sitting up on the table.

“That fucking Cat!” was the first thing she said with a sore voice, and Bedelia sighed in relief, placing a hand on her stomach, to calm herself.

“What?” Misty asked, puzzled while Cordelia was still nervous.

Alice looked around, with the sleeve of her shirt she cleaned up the corner of her mouth, she grimaced at the smell of vomit. “She tried to kill me… _again_ ”.

“She succeeded in doing so,” Bedelia sighed tired all of a sudden, sinking into a chair next to the table. It creaked dangerously under her, but that was the last thing she cared about.

Alice seemed confused by her words, and she looked at Cordelia for an explanation.

“You drank a whole bottle of fertilizer, Alice. Misty found your body here, I brought you back… you don’t remember anything?” Cordelia asked her in a soft tone.

Alice shook her head, looking at her like a lost puppy, she then did the same with Misty and Bedelia. “I was dead?” she asked.

Bedelia nodded, unable to speak again. She was trying to let her heart calm down.

Alice’s face lit up, and she smiled happily. “Awesome!”

Bedelia’s eyes snapped at her – a dangerous light in them.

Alice’s smile disappeared when she noticed it. “What?” she asked, innocently.

Bedelia didn’t say a word, she stood up and left. It wasn’t raining anymore but the ground was wet and slippery.

She carefully reached for the bench she usually sat on, when she wanted some time on her own.

Time passed before she felt a hand placed on her should. “Bedelia?” Alice’s voice woke her completely and she jumped – she must have dozed off. “I’m sorry if I pissed you off…” she said as she sat beside her.

Bedelia turned her head to her, Alice’s damp hair was stuck to her forehead and cheeks. Her eyes were green and bright as usual, she looked fine. She was dead less than an hour before – probably, she didn’t know what time it was. “You were dead, and I felt guilty about it” she said. She didn’t want to add more, and she fell quiet.

Alice sighed, lifting her eyes to the sky. “That cloud over there looks like a cupcake” she said casually, pointing at something. “I’m hungry, I haven’t had breakfast yet”.

Closing her eyes, Bedelia took a deep breath – she knew Alice wanted to change the subject and she decided to indulge her wishes, but she didn’t reply to her statement.

“Before I went to the greenhouse,” Alice told her, after a long pause, “I was thinking about something. I was thinking about leaving” when Bedelia didn’t say anything, she continued. “I want to go to Daresbury, to see if I can find out something more about my family… without magic. I want to do it the right way, no cheating” Bedelia appreciated the gesture, but she didn’t like the idea of Alice leaving anyways. She almost preferred that Alice asked for Cordelia’s help to get her answers. “And,” Alice continued, since she was still quiet, “I was thinking that you could use some time away from here…”

Bedelia knew what she was doing, but she didn’t want to leave the house. She wasn’t sure she could. “It’s not safe for me out there,” she said, “your Hatter is dead, but my Hatter is still alive” Bedelia stood up with a groan – she needed her cane now. “And I don’t like the weather” she added, starting to head towards the house.

“Wait, wait!” Alice called for her, and she stopped, turning around. She found the girl right behind her. “I don’t want to leave forever…” she said, sounding a bit lost. “I—” she stammered, “I really like it here… with you” then she added immediately, “and the others” a light blush coloured her cheeks. She was cute for being a psychopath serial killer that was raised from the death, Bedelia thought to herself and she smiled at the thought.

“What is your point?” She asked, sounding more upset than she actually was.

Alice sighed deeply, she was uncomfortable. “I’ll be back… I want to come back, I just need to understand a few things, but… I’ll be back” she repeated.

Bedelia looked in her eyes longer than she should have, she was starting to be emotional and she hated it. She didn’t want to say something that sounded like a goodbye, because she really wasn’t in the mood for goodbyes. “I can walk you to the airport, I won’t go further”.

Alice smiled and Bedelia automatically smiled back, then Alice’s smile changed into a smirk as she spoke. “While I’m away, there’s something you can think about… and you can give me the answer when you see me again”.

Bedelia frowned, surprised by her words, but she nodded intrigued. “What is it?” she asked.

Alice straightened her back and cleared her throat. “Tell me, why is a raven like a writing desk?”

* * *

Cordelia watched as a limousine left the house with Bedelia and Alice, she followed the black car until it disappeared from her sight, Alice’s old jalopy didn’t want to start so she had to leave it at the Academy.

What a day she had ahead… it wasn’t even lunchtime and so many things had already happened. Alice left so quick she didn’t even have the time to fully understand the reason why she had left.

She told her she was going to be coming back and Cordelia really hoped that nothing bad would happen to her while she was away. She knew something was wrong with the girl, but at the same time, she had something that made its way into your heart. Like it or not, you couldn’t help but grow attached to Alice Carmichael.

“You did great, in the greenhouse” Cordelia spun around at the sound of Misty’s voice and smiled at her sight.

“Thank you,” she said, joining her by her side and when she was close enough, she reached forward to place a soft peck on Misty’s lips, before walking past her, “but I couldn’t have done it without your help”.

“You think she’ll be okay? She seems a nice person after all… some of them, at least” she corrected herself, still a bit confused by Alice’s situation.

“I really hope so,” Cordelia answered, sitting at her desk and opening the book she was working on, “she wants to come back, so we’ll know eventually”.

Hours had passed, and Bedelia still hadn’t come back. Cordelia wasn’t worried, it was a long way from there to the airport; so she was surprised when she heard the doorbell ringing and she approached her window again.

From there, she saw a man handing a box to Kyle, then walk back to the gates.

She immediately left her study and headed towards the first floor; she saw the boy when he was starting to disappear behind a corner. “Kyle!” she called him and he stopped. “Who was at the door?” she asked, eyeing the box.

It was a small gift box, wrapped in fancy paper with a dark red bow on the top. “A man,” Kyle said, “he had a scar on his face” he added, then he showed her the box. “He left this for your sister”.

Cordelia didn’t like it one bit, no one knew that Bedelia was staying there… “Did he know she was my sister?” she asked.

Kyle shook his head. “No, he told me this was for Dr. Du Maurier and left”.

Cordelia took the box and smiled at the boy, “Thank you, Kyle… I’ll leave it in her bedroom” she wasn’t good at hiding her concern, but Kyle knew her and he didn’t ask questions.

* * *

Bedelia was staring at the open box on her bed. She had left Alice at the airport and she  _did_ say goodbye, because she felt like it.

When she got home her sister told her about the box and the man… she had no idea who the man was, but by Kyle’s description about him fitted Will Graham, the scar on his face betrayed him.

She was shaking with anger at the sight of what was inside the box – she hadn’t dared to take it out.

A fancy shoe, a shoe she recognised as one of her own – the one that she left at the dinner party, when she teleported away.

Two notes were placed inside the box. Bedelia took the first one and noticed it was a copy of the prescription she signed for Alice’s medication… she knew it was dangerous and reckless, but Alice needed help and that was the only thing she could do at the time. She didn’t care if now Hannibal knew where she was, there were a bunch of witches to watch her back now.

The second note was just a little white card, she recognised Hannibal’s clear handwriting, the card said:

_Dessert has yet to be served._

_Hannibal Lecter_

Bedelia’s blood boiled with anger and she crumpled up the card, throwing it away. She tried to stay calm, but images of him flashed before her eyes and she couldn’t take it.

She heard a loud sound and the smell of fire filled the room – when she lifted her gaze, a chair was ablaze and she breathed slowly to calm herself.

Bedelia knew she would have to face Hannibal without losing herself this time, she wouldn’t let him take anything else from her.

Right when that thought crossed her mind, her heart skipped a bit – as she realised something she hadn’t notice before: it wasn’t just her name on the prescription, but also Alice’s.

Looking into the fire, the flames were reflected into Bedelia’s blue eyes; anger was consuming her.

The fire roared loudly as the chair crumbled and she pictured Hannibal in its place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see from the title, the ending is quite open.  
> Now, I will probably write a sequel, I just have to be sure about it... and it will probably include Hannibal and Will.  
> I'm going to need some time to think about it - if you want me to write it, of course! XD  
> A special thanks goes to my friend Andy who has corrected those chapters (and probably will do the same with the sequel).  
> Thank you to all of you too!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I'm Lily and I'd love to hear from you...  
> Bye for now!


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